Flash quotes: 2 December
DEBRECEN/BASEL/INNSBRUCK - Comments from players and coaches after Hungary beat North Macedonia 29:19 in group A; Poland beat Spain 26:23 in group C; and Slovenia beat Austria 25:24 in group E on Monday.
Additional comments from Germany right back Nina Engel and right wing Jenny Behrend (both GER) and Iceland head coach Arnar Pétursson, left back Andrea Jacobsen and goalkeeper Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir (all ISL) at media calls in Innsbruck; Romania head coach Florentin Pera and right back Daria Bucur (both ROU), and Czechia head coach Bent Dahl (NOR) and left back Veronika Andrýsková (CZE) at media calls in Debrecen; and Switzerland head coach Knut Ove Joa (NOR), goalkeeper Lea Schüpbach and right back Emma Bächtiger (both SUI), Croatia head coach Ivica Obrvan and left back Kristina Prkacin (both CRO) and Faroe Islands head coach Claus Leth Mogensen (DEN) and left wing Anna Elisabeth Halsdóttir Weyhe (FAR) at media calls in Basel on Monday.
SLOVENIA 25:24 AUSTRIA
Dragan Adžic (MNE) – head coach, Slovenia
On him saying the main round would be bigger than an Olympic medal:
“I won the EURO, silver at the Olympics, but this was such a big win for these girls, officials and Slovenia, so I am extremely proud and happy and I am happy that we are building something at the start of the new Olympic cycle, being among the 12 teams, without 12 players among 12 teams. I am really proud and happy.”
On the experience of certain players being the key for Slovenia:
“Our key players have a lot of matches in the (EHF) Champions League, phenomenal matches with Slovenia. They gave their all. The less experienced ones were following the experienced ones and now they gathered it as well.
“It was a young Austrian team for this thriller match, they have a big potential, eight back players to wish for in any team, but for sure, the experience, together with the big heart of this team made a difference.”
Maja Vojnovic (SLO) – goalkeeper
On the victory:
“It was hard, really hard. We are one of the youngest teams in the tournament, but we showed that we can deliver. I am so, so happy.”
On the patience of Slovenia in crunch time:
“I don’t know. We just kept so calm, even when we caused mistakes. We always came back in the game, even when we were down some goals.”
On the team spirit:
“We are young, we are friends, we have nothing to lose and we simply enjoy every match.”
On the chances in the main round:
“We can cause another surprise like we did in Innsbruck. Nobody believed in us before the event, now we are ready for the main round. And I heard so many supporters from Slovenia now will travel to Vienna.”
Tjaša Stanko (SLO) – left back
On the last 10 minutes of the match:
“I think some of us have more experience and we showed that we took the responsibility, stepped on the ball and we showed that we can also help the younger ones, that we are a good combination on the court.”
On the feelings after the match:
“I feel so proud first of all of my team, and incredibly happy that we succeeded to go to the main round. It's a sweet win over the home team, I have to say, I am very happy.”
On the celebration:
“We will continue the celebration a little bit, because it's a big step for our new team. It's also gaining a lot of experience and we are looking forward to gain it even more in Vienna.”
Monique Tijsterman (NED) – head coach, Austria
On the tight loss against Slovenia:
“I think what girls really did well, we kept on fighting. Of course you hope to win, but it’s close match and we knew in front that when you only get 25 goals it’s OK, but yes, we score too little, not that much in attack.”
On what she will tell the players in the locker room:
“Nothing in the locker room. I will leave them alone, let them cry and when we’re back in hotel we’ll have a short meeting.”
Antonija Mamic (AUT) – goalkeeper
On the defeat:
“We are down to the ground completely. Today the team won which stood stronger in central defence and kept their level for a longer time.
“It hurts, it really hurts. We gave all we had in this equal match. I had hoped that much to make it to Vienna, for us, for the fans. Unfortunately, it did not work.”
Ines Ivancok-Soltic (AUT) – left back
On the tight loss against Slovenia:
“It was a very tough game, a very close game. We did a little bit of mistakes in the end, and we didn’t score, especially not easy goals, and we missed two seven-metre shots, and I think that was the point.“
On whether she managed to speak with her teammates on the court:
“No, not yet. I think is very hard for us right now, we need to calm down a little bit and then discuss everything.”
POLAND 26:23 SPAIN
Arne Senstad (NOR) – head coach, Poland
On progressing to the main round:
“I am proud. We have been working for this for many years. And as I said before, we always get some tough draw, getting in a competition with top teams also this year. We knew this will be deciding match so I actually told for months to the girls that it will be all about this game.”
“We were waiting with the seven-against-six and not showing anything. And then it was all in, and then we succeeded in this, so the girls are fantastic fighters.”
“And we also have been, as you maybe heard, now playing for one more – that the father of Daria (Michalak) died directly before we came here. So we have said that this extra energy and extra motivation is there. I'm so happy for her. She's a fantastic humble player, fantastic fighter. Her father was her best support and still is, so we are so proud.”
On their seven-against-six moment:
“Sometimes we coaches are good, sometimes we are idiots, but this was our chance to use it a lot. Girls believed in it. We were talking about it and had a plan. Spain was really surprised and we managed to keep it through the whole match.”
Monika Kobylinska (POL) – right back
On the key to the win:
“Our defence. I think we were like, crazy — really crazy fighting — and I'm so proud that we did it. When all of us are fighting so much then we can really win against everyone.”
On reaching the main round after 10 years:
“This is like, no words to say, because it means a lot. I really think this team were fighting a lot the last years to now go to this next round. Even last time, we were really close, and we didn't do it. Then it was like really hard for first period to step up again. Today we did it, so this is really beautiful in handball.”
Daria Michalak (POL) - left wing
On securing a main round ticket:
“This is the dream come true. We are so happy and I don't know what to say more.”
On their game:
“Our plan for the match was that we will fight to the finish. Doesn't matter what will be or what the result will be. We win or we lose, but we fight until the end. I'm grateful for my whole team that we made this.”
On her father passing away just before the EHF EURO began:
“We had special power today from above, from my dad who unfortunately did not live to see this, but I know that he was with us and it is also thanks to him and for him.”
Ambros Martin (ESP) – head coach
On the defeat against Poland:
“We are really sorry because we couldn't win today and then go to the next round. We have two points and we have learning to do from it. We have a young team who are living this experience for the first time as a team.
“The only thing that comes in my mind is to be proud of the girls. Not only in the victory or in the game we played against France, but also in this type of game where we didn't play so good. Probably because we could feel pressure of going into the next round and against France, there was nothing to lose.
“Against experienced team like Poland and their seven-against-six we could not play. We did not have time to practise for something like that. But we had great fighting spirit.”
On his team’s performance:
“We saw the possibility to beat France in that game, and then probably we put players, key players in that game much more than we wanted, because we saw the chance to win the match and go directly to the main round. And today, maybe those players did not have enough fuel. But the players who made substitutions today also did great job.”
Jennifer Gutiérrez (ESP) – left wing
On the match:
“It was a hard game for us. I think we didn’t find the key to break them. We started good, with good defence pressure then could run some fast breaks, but after we got stuck and we couldn't see the solution. Things didn't work out today and it's a bit sad because it was the last game now for us.”
On how they tried to counter the seven-against-six:
“We didn't expect it, so we stood a bit down and normally we have more open defence. I think this we adapted the beginning and after we struggled a bit more. Also we had many misses against the goalkeeper, and I think that was one of the facts for why we couldn't reach the score.”
On the positives of the EURO with the rebuilding team:
“We had two weeks of preparation. We had the tournament in France; we fought against them. Also, here we fought against one of the best teams — they are world champions. We made a good game against Portugal. Today the things didn't work out.
“I could say I'm proud of my teammates. They are beginners — almost full of the squad. It's very young, and I think it's a good beginning to start to fight from the bottom. In some years, we will see where we end.”
Carmen Arroyo (ESP) – left back
On the defeat:
“It is hard now, we wanted to be in the main round. Our work was exceptional and we left everything on the court. That's the point we have to take with us. We are group of a really young players and we are still building this team.”
On Poland:
“We knew they have big players who are strong and it would be a problem. But also them playing with one more player was difficult for us to defend against, even though our defence was good. However, when you are trying to stop their attack and you are having one player less all the time it's impossible to stop it.”
NORTH MACEDONIA 29:19 HUNGARY
Kristijan Grchevski (MKD) – head coach
On their performance after the break:
“We played very well in the first half, but in the second half we had some bad moments, we didn’t concentrate and we missed a lot of clear situations, which influenced the final result.”
On the lessons they learned after the tournament:
“We played a good tournament, we are a young team and we will have a good future.”
Katerina Damjanoska (MKD) – line player
On their performance in the first half:
“The first half was very good for us, we fought for 30 minutes. The second half was a little bit off, we made many mistakes, we gave them the ball. They scored really easy goals so I think that made a really big difference and I also think we had too many suspensions in the second half.”
On her feelings after the tournament:
“This is a big tournament for me and I am very happy and proud of myself and the girls, the team, because we are very young and this is a big experience for all of us. I think we have a great future ahead of us and that we will be great in the next few years.”
Vlagyimir Golovin (HUN) – head coach
On his feelings after three victories in the preliminary round:
“We are really happy about this win today. In the first half we were behind a bit, but in the second half we played really well and we managed to win this game very confidently.”
On it being difficult to keep up with the opponents in the first half.
“We had many mistakes in the first half, even when we had opportunities to score we couldn’t score goals. At the break we thought everything through in the changing room, we managed to fix the faults and then it was an easy game.”
Dorottya Faluvégi (HUN) – right wing
On her feelings after the win:
“It’s a great feeling to finish the preliminary round like that, I am happy with today’s victory.”
On their performance in the tight first half:
“We missed a lot of shots, but on the other hand we had a good defence and only received 10 goals in the first half, which really held us in the game. In the second half we could turn this around, we were more efficient with the shots and this is why we can go home happy today.”
GERMANY
Nina Engel (GER) – right back
On the clear defeat against the Netherlands:
“We had hoped for a different result, but we have to get rid of the frustration and only look ahead to the match against Iceland. The last match was ‘shit happens’, but life has to go on.”
On Iceland:
“We simply have to put our hearts on the court and fight for 60 minutes, then we will win.”
On the pressure:
“Of course there is pressure, but I personally think it is now or never against Iceland. Everybody has certain expectations on herself, and now we want to show that we can make it better.”
On missing so many chances as a team:
“We need to play with more patience and individually we need to be more focused and concentrated – and hit the goal.”
On her first major tournament:
“Of course I had hoped for more against the Netherlands, but in general, it’s been OK until now.”
Jenny Behrend (GER) – right wing
On her emotions after losing against the Netherlands:
“It still really hurts, as we know how important that game was. We started with confidence, but then – unfortunately not for the first time – gave the match from our hands.
“It hurts, but you cannot think that much about it, as in a tournament like this you already have the next match ahead. And on Tuesday we have to deliver, no question, otherwise we fly home. This should be in everybody’s minds.”
On the many mistakes in attack:
“Our efficiency was really bad against the Netherlands. We started well, but then missed three penalty shots. But still, we could have played calm and patient, but then we started to think that much. We have to be smart and have to go back to basics. We have to scrutinise our performance and make sure that it will not happen again.”
On Iceland:
“Iceland will start with a lot of confidence after their first win. They play a really strong tournament, they have no pressure, they have easiness. We have a good team, as a group and individually. If we put our strengths on the court, our defence and counter-attacks are really strong.
“Therefore, there is no need to have doubts for tomorrow and to win that match. Pressure comes from the head, but also calmness comes from the head. We should simply concentrate on our strength – and then rock the match. Nothing else.”
ICELAND
Arnar Pétursson (ISL) – head coach:
On the celebration after their first win:
“This was a huge step for us, and we enjoyed it yesterday night, but this morning we started to prepare for Germany.”
On Ukraine’s comeback:
“I lost many nerves and my hair got a bit greyer than it was before the match, but that’s normal. We had problems with their seven against six and we had problems when they slowed down the speed. But in the end, we were happy and win the first game.”
On their chances against Germany:
“We have a chance to make it to the main round, you have a chance in every game. But the German team is top of the world, they are always among the top eight, they played the Olympic Games. The match will be tough, but there is always a chance.”
On the psychological advantage:
“Germany are used to play those decisive matches under pressure. They have experienced players. For sure, the pressure is not on our side – we only want to perform well for 60 minutes and make a step forward. If we play well, we are happy – regardless the result. We never say we have nothing to lose, but we only focus on ourselves.”
Andrea Jacobsen (ISL) – left back:
On the celebration after their historic win:
“We were so happy. We danced in the locker room, we hugged our fans on the tribune. Simply fantastic.”
On the next match, against Germany:
“I definitely have some info on the players, as I have played against some in Germany. But we focus on our game.
“I think everybody is cheering for us, except the Germans. We have a chance.”
On their tactics:
“Running is part of our DNA and our game plan, therefore we are going to run.”
Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir (ISL) – left back
On the celebrations after their first win:
“I missed the celebration, as I was in doping control. I drank water in the doping control room until 11:30. Definitely, it was a different celebration (from) that I had hoped before, but still a funny one.
“When I came back home to the hotel after midnight, the rest of the team was sleeping already. But on social media I could see the people were supporting us and that really touched my heart.”
On the reactions from Iceland:
“They were so amazing, we got some much support from home and in the arena on the stands. We are really honoured by the way people are supporting us.”
On the match against Germany:
“Our feelings in the team are high, but we keep the feet on the ground. We need to land. We have nothing to lose, Germany is one of the top teams in the world, were are not. So we come without any pressure to this game. We can play with everything we. I hope for two points.”
SWITZERLAND
Knut Ove Joa (NOR) - head coach
On the game against Croatia:
“I expect a completely different game than against the Faroe Islands and Denmark. The Croatians play more physically, are physically strong and will shoot a lot from distance. The right tactics are one thing. Focusing on ourselves is another. We have a big squad and lots of options.”
Lea Schüpbach (SUI) – goalkeeper
On the support:
“The feeling and the fans were amazing on Sunday against Denmark and I hope we will have a lot of people in the hall again. They are our great support and I hope they can push us to the win.”
On Croatia:
“We can't underestimate them. They are a good team, but I think we need to focus on ourselves and make things we are good at. It's all or nothing game for both of us. It will be very interesting. They are coming with a lot of power and strong fight.
“We need to stay compact in defence. They have good centre back players and we have to prepare for that and back shooters.”
Emma Bächtiger (SUI) – right back
On the game against Croatia:
“We have a chance to go to the main round and we will go all in. I think it's going to be a close game, maybe even 50:50, and it is important to keep our nerve. Especially near the end of the game and they play with all our strengths.
“We should aim to score quick and easy goals, and to maintain our fast pace against them. It also makes a game a lot easier for us if we don't always attack for three minutes and keep them from playing their game.”
ROMANIA
Florentin Pera (ROU) – head coach
On the defeat to Montenegro:
"In my opinion, Montenegro played better than us. They have very strong central defenders in (Djurdjina) Jaukovic and (Tatjana) Brnovic, I think they are very, very good in that central zone.
“When we played through our wings, it was very good for us, but it's hard to play 60 minutes only with the wings. We tried to and I tried to change the system in in defence. We came back in the game in first half with five-on-one defence, but Montenegro had more experienced players than us.
“We have young players and we made some technical mistakes and this was good for the opponent because we lost some attacks through technical mistakes and this was the difference."
On the atmosphere in the squad:
"I am proud about my players because we rebuilt the team. I think we have one of the youngest teams at this European championship and we were close to Montenegro. I am happy that we didn't give up and fought until the end. We had good energy, and this is a good aspect after this game."
On the next match, against Serbia:
"We will try to give our best against Serbia and we have to play with confidence, it's important to fight in defence to be aggressive and compact in defence, then to have good transition and in attack to play more collectively without technical mistakes. I think we have a chance to win against Serbia. I trust my players and I think we have our chance."
Daria Bucur (ROU) – right back
On the loss to Montenegro:
"It was a match that we really wanted to win, but unfortunately, our presentation on the field, It wasn't good enough to succeed and win, but for sure the next match, it's the most important because we need to go out of these groups and make the main round. We know that the next match won't be just a match, but it's going to be a war."
On what it will take to beat Serbia:
"We need to be better in every phase of the match, in defence, in attack and in the individual connections on the court. We need to be better at every perspective."
CZECHIA
Bent Dahl (NOR) – head coach, Czechia
On the win against Serbia:
"I'm very happy about the victory and also that we end up with the three plus (goal difference) in the end was also very important. It was a happy ending of the game and I'm really happy.”
On their performance against Serbia:
"We can always be better. We have some ups and some downs, but we also do some really good actions in the game, so we take step by step and look forward for the next one."
On the next match against Montenegro:
"We are always preparing in the same way, but we use time now to work on getting mentally prepared because we need this. We always have the target to win against the favourites, so for us it will be a huge fight. We know that they are favourites, but if we can play our best handball, we have chances to win."
On keeping the level and consistency throughout the 60 minutes:
"It's important to take the development steps all the time because some of our players, they don't play at this level on regular basis. So for us, it's to be in it and have more and more experience. Every year we have a little bit more and get better and better.
“It's most important that we are at the EHF EURO and play games. And then we also have a good development and the girls will stay longer in it."
On playing seven against six:
"We found out that we need to have a extra tool in our toolbox and we do it in phase two, but also in the normal attack play, but we will see what we do tomorrow, but that's some of our things to also be better. We need to be better in six against five, but also seven against six. So yeah, it's part of the systems."
Veronika Andrýsková (CZE) – left back
On the win against Serbia:
"It was really important for us because we needed two points in this game. It was a difficult game, but I'm so happy and I'm so proud of our team because we fought together and we had success."
On the next match, against Montenegro:
"I think it will be the most difficult game in our group, but the chance is still here. We have to fight until the end and I hope that we will get one or two points and that's important for us."
On what they can improve:
"We have to stick to our plan. We want to play fast, and that's important for our team. We have to be consistent in this, during the whole game, 60 minutes, and we have to fight till the end. And we will see what happens."
CROATIA
Ivica Obrvan (CRO) – head coach
On the game against the Faroe Islands:
“Our defence was good, but the attack had too many misses and their goalkeepers had 18 saves. We had problem in creation in our attack. However, we are still on the same even though we lost a point - the game against Switzerland will be crucial for advancing further. I hope we will play better, mainly on the attack and that the players will find new energy.
“Switzerland are very good team and they have well-structured play, with amazing support from the stands.”
On their and Switzerland's play:
“I was satisfied how we were returning to the defence against the Faroe Islands and our transition was very good. The Faroe Islands have this Scandinavian style of play with fast pace and fast break. Now we are facing another team that's playing similar. Switzerland also have that quick transition that we need to stop, and if we react the same way we did against the Faroe Islands it will be good.
“I also hope we will have good response in the attack to their good 6-0 defence and we have to be prepared to their player, especially Mia Emmenegger who has the long jump-off and can easily score.”
Kristina Prkacin (CRO) – left back
On the match against the Faroe Islands:
“We played very good in defence with Kapi (Ivana Kapitanovic) and Luce (Lucija Bešen) between the posts who helped us a lot. Our biggest problem was in the attack. We didn't not react like we should. We need to forget about it and have are focus on the next game against Switzerland.”
“We have not lost the game, we only lost one point and we still have everything open and can progress to the main round.”
On the match against Switzerland:
“Switzerland are very good team. We saw that already two years ago when we equalised with them in Slovenia. They have well-structured team even though they don't have big names in their squad. they were playing on a high level in these two games so far.
“We need to fight, have a good defence and try to have more fast breaks and score easy goals. I hope our goalkeeper will continue their good performances.
“Switzerland have great boost from the stands from their fans, but that will also be a good for us because it is really nice to see the full venue and play in such a great atmosphere.”
On what could be key against Switzerland:
“We will try to stop their fast pace with our defence. Defence is our biggest strength and we are ready to fight. Our aggressive defence is our main force, and I don't think our defence is easy to play against.”
FAROE ISLANDS
Claus Leth Mogensen (DEN) - head coach
On the game against Croatia:
“We are sill very proud of gaining our first point ever, very happy but also tired. It was difficult to sleep last night.”
On the 17:17 draw with Croatia:
“The game was really strange. We knew that we will struggle against the physique of Croatia in our attack, but we were very happy that we could be just as good in our own defence and especially in the middle with Brynja Høj and our goalkeeper Annika (Frídheim Petersen) was amazing.”
On the next game against Denmark:
“They are the favourites here, they will not lose many games in the competition. We are not thinking about winning or losing, we're thinking about doing our best performance ever. That's what we're trying to reach. We'll see how good it was after the game, but we will prepare for that match just like for any other.
“They have many skilled players and very different kind of players so it's kind of difficult to prepare for all scenarios.”
On the fans and connections with Denmark:
“There's no doubt the game is going to be special. The fans that the Faroe Islands brought here are amazing. They are cheering for us no matter if we are 10 goals behind or we are leading, like against Croatia. That gives some morale boost all the time, and we really need that against Denmark. I know the players very well, but they're so good, it's difficult to stop them.”
Anna Elisabeth Halsdóttir Weyhe (FAR) - left wing
On the historic point against Croatia:
“We’re still really happy about the result, and we're really proud of ourselves. We still have the same feeling yesterday.”
On the next game against Denmark:
“We have played already two games where we were not favourites and we have, I think, surprised in both of games and I think we can do the same thing again.
“Of course, Denmark are a much better team than others we faced, bigger favourites. But I think if we have the same defence as we've had in the last game against Croatia, I think we can maybe have a good result.”
On Denmark:
“They have a lot of strength and are really quick player. They can also shoot from outside, so it's going to be tough, but we are just going to try our best.”
