Flash quotes: match day 5

GROUP A

Montenegro vs Slovenia 33:32

Debrecen, 17 January – Quotes from Montenegro coach Zoran Roganovic (MNE) and centre back Vasilje Kaludjerovic (MNE), Slovenia coach Ljubomir Vranjes (SWE), right back Jure Dolenec (SLO) and line player Blaz Blagotinsek (SLO) after Montenegro beat Slovenia 33:32 in their group A preliminary round match in Debrecen on Monday.

Zoran Roganovic (MNE) - coach

On the win against Slovenia and main round spot:

"It was the first match for me at this EHF EURO and what a match. It was a tough game for us and we had many problems in the last month. Being part of this team is such a joy for me. We had fabulous period and it was crowned with win. It means a lot. I’m a very proud coach tonight. This team is just getting started. We are in the process of creating something big."

Vasilje Kaludjerovic (MNE) - centre back

On the win against Slovenia and main round spot:

"It’s an amazing feeling. This is my first EHF EURO. We believed in us from the start, when no one did. There are no words to explain this. We played 60 minutes like lions.

"I believed in this, I believed in my friends, we are brothers, we have a very big heart. This is an amazing day in an amazing atmosphere. This is my first EHF EURO, this fact makes the feeling even more special. The difference between them and us was my friend, Nebojsa Simic, he had a lot of big saves. We are ready for the next round. We had many problems during the preparation, a lot of Covid-19 infections, but now everybody is healthy and we’ll continue our story."

Ljubomir Vranjes (SWE) - coach, Slovenia

On the loss against Montenegro:

"We were not good enough in defence throughout the whole match. At the end, of course, it was a close match. We couldn’t come back when we had our chance. This is really a bad result for Slovenia, for players and me as a coach. I’m very disappointed but that belongs to sport. Someone needs to lose and I’m sorry it’s us this time."

Jure Dolenec (SLO) - right back

On the loss against Montenegro:

"We didn’t play good and we didn’t show what we needed to. My opinion is that we haven’t reached our full potential. We are a better team than the results show. We are disappointed. But that’s life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

Blaz Blagotinsek (SLO) – line player

On the result:

"I do not know what happened with the team. I am very disappointed, because I thought we would have deserved more. We opened the game very well and were leading for a long time, but in the last 15 minutes I have no idea what were missing.

"We have to analyse this tournament and then maybe we will find the turning point that led to this defeat. I also had some problems, but probably there have been more mistakes which together contributed to the loss of the match."

North Macedonia vs Denmark 21:31

Debrecen, 17 January – Quotes from Denmark coach Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN), left back Lasse Bredekjaer Andersson (DEN), North Macedonia coach Kiril Lazarov (MKD) and centre back Marko Mitev (MKD) after Denmark beat North Macedonia 31:21 in their group A preliminary round match in Debrecen on Monday.

Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN) - coach

On the win against North Macedonia:

"We played a very good match. We wanted to make a foundation in defence and we did it. We had good goalkeepers and were efficient in offence. We wanted to rest some players for the main round. Overall I’m satisfied with our performance."

Lasse Bredekjaer Andersson (DEN) - left back

On the win against North Macedonia:

"We are satisfied with everything so far. Of course, there are always things we can change and improve. We can’t wait to start the main round and play new matches. We can be happy with every."

Kiril Lazarov (MKD) - coach

On the loss against Denmark:

"Denmark deserved to win. It was expected, they are the best team in the world. We are in a process of changing generations and this was a good experience for our players. We have to work hard in the future."

Marko Mitev (MKD) - centre back

On the loss against Denmark:

"This was a good match for us. We played good until the 35th minute. This team has a potential and we will show that in future. I want to thank our fans who were supporting us throughout the whole tournament."

On his EHF EURO debut:

"It’s a great feeling to play at the EHF EURO. I’m thankful to coach that he gave me a chance and believed in me."

GROUP C

Ukraine vs Croatia 38:25

Szeged, 17 January – Quotes from Ukraine coach Michael Biegler (GER) and left wings Dmytro Artemenko (UKR) and Oleksandr Kasai (UKR), and Croatia coach Hrvoje Horvat (CRO), left back Tin Lucic (CRO), line player Marin Sipic (CRO) right back Ivan Martinovic (CRO) and centre back Luka Cindric (CRO) after Croatia beat Ukraine 38:25 in their group C preliminary round match in Szeged on Monday.

Michael Biegler (GER) - coach, Ukraine

On what Ukraine learnt in this preliminary round:

"We learnt a lot of things but this team has to develop. We knew it before arriving here. We played in a fantastic group, against three excellent teams. We have to go step by step. We played not so good against Serbia, against France we were much better and today was somewhere in the middle. This team needs time, the players work hard and in a good way, but they need time.”

Dmytro Artemenko (UKR) - left wing, Ukraine

On the things Ukraine learnt during the preliminary round:

“The tournament was a great experience for our young team. We were given a chance to play against some very strong teams, such as Serbia, France and Croatia. I am very happy that I was here and represent Ukraine.”

Oleksandr Kasai (UKR) – left wing, Ukraine

On the result and what they have learned:

“Unfortunately, it was a very hard game and we lost. I think we will train more now and finally it will be our game in next time, I think. I think every game in this championship it is good study for us, what we can think, what we can see, how play different players, different team. Every game is a good opportunity to show your power. We can back home now and start some EHF Champions League or championship of the country or rest.”

Hrvoje Horvat (CRO) - coach, Croatia

On the preliminary round:

“We started very badly, we had Covid problems every day. We brought new players almost everyday. Today, we could not manage to train together. Now, we have to see who is left and which team might play with us in the main round.”

Tin Lucin (CRO) - left back, Croatia

On the changes Croatia went through during the preliminary round:

“The most important is that all players stay healthy. The players who arrived, they helped us a lot. Now, we will wait for the next game and hope we can qualify for the main round.”

On the possibility of the main round:

“I think the most important thing is that all of my mates stay healthy. Everyone who joined the team later helped us a lot, we played really well in all the three matches of this group. Now there is nothing else, but to wait for tonight’s game between France and Serbia and see whether we could go to the next round or not.”

Marin Sipic (CRO) - line player, Croatia

On how they approached the match:

“It was important to save some energy as we have a lot of problems with Covid. Every day we have new cases and new players coming from home. Those guys should be having a mid-season rest so we know they have not had too many opportunities to train.

"We won by a great margin and that was important to give some rest to the key players. Now we just have to wait how the last match pans out. You would not believe it, but we will cheer for France for the first time.”

Ivan Martinovic (CRO) – right back, Croatia

On the result:

“It’s a great feeling that we won the last game of our group. Now we hope that France will beat Serbia and we can go through to the main round. We enjoyed this last match, but we had some problems in the first half. Ukraine played great handball, but in the second period we were better.

"We were tight in defence and Mate Sunjic was in top form in goal. We made some fast and easy goals so it was well deserved. In the future, we should play the full 60 minutes according to the previous plans, because we had a short freeze in every game.”

Luka Cindric (CRO) – centre back, Croatia

On the match:

“It was a really hard game for us mentally. We knew that we needed to win to have our chances to go through to the next round. That is why we started nervously. Anyway, I think we deserved to win. We have done our job, we also know that France is the favourite against Serbia, but everything is open."

On the possibility of the main round:

"You can never know for sure, we will see. We are only focusing on the following steps, but if we are getting through to the main round, it is going to be tough for us.”

France vs Serbia 29:25

Szeged, 17 January – Quotes from France coach Guillaume Gille (FRA) and centre back Kentin Mahe (FRA), and Serbia coach Antonio Gerona (ESP), centre back Lazar Kukic (SRB), line player Mijajlo Marsenic (SRB) and right wing Bogdan Radivojevic (SRB) after France beat Serbia 29:25 in their group C preliminary round match in Szeged on Monday.

Guillaume Gille (FRA) - coach, France

On what France learnt in this preliminary round:

"I’m really happy to finish with three points. It was only the first step towards our goal, and I’m very satisfied with the three games we played. We must keep in mind that this is only the first phase, though.”

Kentin Mahe (FRA) - centre back

On the game against Serbia:

"I hope we can be better in the future, I hope we can repeat this performance in the long term, in a competition that is very tough. Serbia played really good handball since the beginning of the EURO, I am very happy about the way we played."

Antonio Gerona (ESP) - coach, Serbia

On his team’s performance in the preliminary round:

“We were joking that we are champions of Covid, but we don’t want to find excuses. France played amazing handball, especially in defence. I hope that the next time we go to championship, we can gather more experience. I’m really proud of my players and how they fought in these conditions.”

Lazar Kukic (SRB) - centre back

On what could have been better in the preliminary round:

“France were really the better team tonight. We don’t want to find any excuses, but a lot of us had Covid, we could have been a different team. We won against France in the qualifiers, so we showed then that we had level. We want to be there at the next championship and I hope we’ll be able to play in better conditions.”

Mijajlo Marsenic (SRB) - line player

On the atmosphere:

“First of all, I would like to thank our fans. They were amazing even when we were 10 goals behind. They didn’t give up on us and supported us until the very last second. I hope it’s going to be like this in the future."

On the match:

"We didn’t show our best in the first half. We can play much better. We couldn’t score enough goals and that was the biggest problem. One thing that makes me really proud is that we didn’t give up against an Olympic gold medallist team. They are elite players and we showed Europe that we can compete with them.”

Bogdan Radivojevic (SRB) – right wing, Serbia

On the result:

“It’s really hard now. Somehow in the first half we couldn’t show what we are capable of. We won the second half by five goals. Against France! That hurts the most because we can play against great teams like them. Perhaps we were not concentrating or maybe some of us were a little bit scared.

"I’m happy that we didn’t give up, and we showed we have proud players in Serbia. I’m just sorry for the fans as they came so far to see us. It was an amazing atmosphere throughout the whole game. We will come back stronger for sure. We will always fight for Serbia.”

GROUP E

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Spain 24:28

Bratislava – Monday 17 January – Quotes from Spain coach Jordi Ribera (ESP) and left back Agustin Cassado (ESP), and Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Ivica Obrvan (CRO) and left back Mirko Herceg (BIH), after Spain beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 28:24 win in their group D preliminary round match in Bratislava on Monday.

Jordi Ribera (ESP) – coach

On the victory:

“Bosnia and Herzegovina performed very well and most of the time controlled the rhythm of the game. They made life really difficult for us, we had difficulties to defend their attacks, we had problems in getting into the game and we were not efficient in attack. Besides, Bosnian goalkeeper Benjamin Buric had a strong day. Finally, only the last 10 minutes were the key, when we scored a 7:2 run to win the match. We are happy with another two points, but we must become better in the main round.”

On his very short dressing room speech at half-time:

“Everybody knew that we had bad start and we all knew that we had to change some things. So it was not necessary to talk that much, I wanted to activate the legs of the players, this was important.”

Agustin Cassado (ESP) – left back

On the match:

“We knew from the beginning that it would be a difficult match – and that was what happened on the court. It was a different rhythm and pace, they caused difficulties to us, but we are satisfied that we were able to turn the match around.”

On the main round:

“We still have some work to do in the main round, we want to get as far as possible in this tournament.”

Ivica Obrvan (CRO) – coach, Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the match:

“Tonight we played against one of the best teams in the world. My players showed a great fight, but to win we would have needed more concentration and focus in the last minutes, when we made some mistakes that allowed Spain to win by four goals.”

Mirko Herceg (BIH) - left back

On the match:

“We were the better team in the first half, but in the second half we made some mistakes Spain used to get in advance. But it was not easy to play against us, we had nothing to lose and wanted to play the best game of this tournament what we managed.”

Czech Republic vs Sweden 27:27

Bratislava - Monday 17 January – Quotes from Sweden coach Glenn Solberg (NOR) and left back Lukas Sandell (SWE), and Czech Republic coach Rastislav Trtik (CZE) and right back Tomas Babak (CZE) after Sweden drew 27:27 with the Czech Republic in their group D preliminary round match in Bratislava on Monday.

Glenn Solberg (NOR) – coach, Sweden

On the match:

“We played good in defence and it was like we planned. We knew that Czech team is strong physically and we are really happy to get into the main round. We can play better in counter attack and attack, now we have to see what we can do better.”

On the problems in attack:

“We knew that Czechs are very good in defence and work hard – as we saw in the earlier games of them. We are at a European championship, every team here is very good, we cannot think about having easy matches. So we are happy to be in the main round, and there we need more flow in attack.”

Lukas Sandell (SWE) – left back

On the match:

“It was a hard game with a lot of physical actions. We made a good game in defence, but we can be better in attack, we are happy and proud to proceed.”

Rastislav Trtik (CZE) – coach

On the match:

"It is really sad and it is difficult for me to talk about the match. We are really proud of all players, we fought bravely, but it is difficult, when you face a team like World Championship silver medallists.”

Tomas Babak (CZE) - right back

On the match:

“It was a really tough match, we are sad and it is hard to say a word. Our team is really young, I believe we can improve and get better.”

GROUP F

Slovakia vs Russia 36:27

Košice, 17 January – Quotes from Russia coach Velimir Petkovic (GER) and left wing Roman Ostashchenko (RUS) and Slovakia coach Peter Kukucka (SVK) and goalkeeper Teodor Paul (SVK) after Russia beat Slovakia 36:27 in ther group F preliminary round match in Steel Arena in Košice on Monday.

Velimir Petkovic (GER) – coach Russia

On the win against Slovakia:

“I am very happy with what the team showed today, especially in the first half. I am satisfied with the result, we were prepared for Slovakia and I knew it was always going to be a tough game.”

On their future in the competition:

“The two points we take in the main round are crucial to the future. If our team plays like this, with huge character and with the same rhythm, I think we can have some good results in the main round in Bratislava. We proved how good we are against Norway, when we were outsiders, so we can also have good results in the main round, in Bratislava.”

Roman Ostashchenko (RUS) - left wing

On the win against Slovakia:

“We would like to focus on us more, we played very good and we took two points for the next round, which is crucial.”

Peter Kukucka (SVK) - coach

On the loss against Russia:

“It is a pity for us to have lost today, but Russia were simply better. They were strong in defence, had very good fast breaks and won against us. The pressure was huge on us, we needed to win by six goals, but that was impossible. Our players were quite tired, we also have many young players, which are inexperienced and it was there to be seen. It is a pity, but the fact is that Russia were simply the better team.”

Teodor Paul (SVK) - goalkeeper

On their loss against Russia:

“It is difficult to say something after a game like this, we did not want to finish the EHF EURO 2022 with such a big defeat. Russia was simply better, in attack, in defence, with their goalkeepers on fire. We could not win today.”

Lithuania vs Norway 29:35

Košice, 17 January – Quotes from Norway coach Christian Berge (NOR) and left wing Sebastian Barthold (NOR), and Lithuania coach Mindaugas Andriuska (LTU) and centre back Zanas Virbauskas (LTU) after Norway beat Lithuania 35:29 in their group F preliminary round match in Steel Arena in Košice on Saturday

Christian Berge (NOR) – coach

On the win against Lithuania:

“It was a physical game, as we knew it would be. We wanted to run as much as we could to score those easy goals. I am pretty satisfied because we can see signs of improvement after the loss against Russia. We wanted to takes some steps in the right direction and we managed that.”

On their future in the competition:

“We will be taking it one game at a time, as we will be facing difficult opponents. Right now we are only thinking about the next game.”

Sebastian Barthold (NOR) - left wing

On the win against Lithuania:

“This was a good game for us. We tried to exclude the external factors and we are now happy with the result. We are looking forward to the main round.”

Mindaugas Andriuska (LTU) – coach

On their loss against Norway:

“The third game was a bit different than the previous two. We had a very good game in the first half, but in the second half, Norway punished our small mistakes with fast breaks and this was the key point in the game.”

Zanas Virbauskas (LTU) - centre back

On their loss against Norway:

“I want to thank the fans who came here, they inspired us and we really felt like home. We tried to compete with Norway, we managed it in the first half, but they made the difference."