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French national team captain and the best player in the France - England match, Zinedine Zidane, did not forget to thank his team mate and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for saving the penalty kick.
Zidane, who scored two goals in extra time after the match against England, said that Beckham's missed penalty was a crucial moment: "Barthez kept the score 0-1 and gave us hope that we could still win the match. The game was not going in our favor, but in the end we managed to achieve a positive result. We suffered, but changed the situation."
Zidane was supported by French coach Jacques Santini: "The English made the match difficult for us, and at halftime I told the players that we would have to do a lot of work. France started the second half well, but I have to say that Fabien's saved penalty motivated us."
England's captain David Beckham admitted that his unsuccessful kick prevented them from winning the match: "If I had scored, we would have held on, but Fabien read me well and guessed the shot - that's his merit."
According to Barthez, saving a penalty kick is not just about luck: "You could say that saving a penalty kick is just luck, but luck doesn't come that easily to you. You have to work hard for it. It's the result of hard work."
