Chiedozie Ogbene says he could see the doubt in the French stars in the closing stages of the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying defeat.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan made two superb late saves to deprive the Republic of a famous point in Dublin.
“We don’t want to celebrate losses, it’s a results-based business and that’s what we strive for,” Ogbene said.
Rotherham striker Ogbene, 25, added: “I looked into the eyes of the defenders and I think I could see a bit of doubt because we kept putting pressure on them with kicks. arrested.”
He added that “the general feeling is disappointment” but the performance, perhaps the best under coach Stephen Kenny, was a “massive boost”.
“The manager must have given us some good news and said we have to take the positives out of the game and that’s what we have to focus on right now because we can’t change the result,” Ogbene said.
“It’s a huge boost when you can play like that against the best team, but I think the manager hinted at it.
“Obviously the performance is good but at the moment we just need results and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
“I want to go to the next level”
AC Milan keeper Maignan saved France, the first to prevent Jules Kounde from scoring an own goal, before he pushed Nathan Collins away from the resulting corner.
“[It’s a] great goalkeeper save, obviously they are the best players in the world but I think we matched them, we put one of the best against them,” added Ogbene.
“In the first half we were very compact, they didn’t really cause us too much of a threat and they took advantage of our mistake, giving the ball to the edge of the box and we were beaten by a spectacular goal.
“We were all trying to get the referee to speed up the game and an experienced nation like that knows how to suck the life out of the game.”
Ogbene said his performance boosted his confidence as he gave AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez, who started in the World Cup final against Argentina, a torrid time in Dublin.
“I always said I wanted to take it to the next level,” he added.
“Sometimes you don’t play well and you start doubting yourself. But when I can put in performances like this, it gives me the belief that maybe I can be effective at the next level and that’s my dream and so it keeps my dream alive.”
