Flash quotes: group E & F media calls, 14 January
MANNHEIM & MUNICH - Comments from Sweden head coach Glenn Solberg (NOR) and centre back Felix Claar (SWE), Portugal left back Alexandre Cavalcanti (POR) and left wing Leonel Fernandes (POR), and Denmark right back Mathias Gidsel (DEN) and goalkeeper Emil Nielsen (DEN) at media calls on Sunday.
SWEDEN
Glenn Solberg (NOR) - head coach
On the first two games:
“I am glad we got to play against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the start of the tournament because it was more of a physical game. Against Georgia, we could play our game a little bit more, and impose our rhythm which was good for us. I am very satisfied with our game so far.”
On all 18 players getting a chance in the first two matches:
“It is very important for us to have all players in the tournament. We work as a team, off and on the court. It's all about us and not the individuals. It is very important that everyone feels part of this team.
“I have very good players in all positions, 18 of them, and they all deserve to feel the game. And it was good we could give a chance to all in the first two games and now we can choose the best for the rest of the tournament.”
On the Netherlands game:
“The Netherlands are a fantastic team, playing very fast. For us is important to stay compact and aggressive in defence so we can stop their attack and counterattack. It will be a tough match, with a high tempo. The European championship for us starts with the game against the Netherlands. It will be a tough match but we want to win it.”
On legendary Swedish player Staffan Olsson leading the Netherlands:
“I have full respect for Staffan. He was a great player and is a great coach. He knows how Swedish play and all, but there are no surprises between us. We will all try our thing on the court and see who is better.”
Felix Claar (SWE) - centre back
On the start of the Men's EHF EURO 20204:
“It is important to have two more easy wins at the start of the European Championship. We can say the real competition starts with the game against the Netherlands. All players have been sharing minutes, we feel fresh.”
On the game against the Netherlands:
“The Netherlands are playing fast and a fun handball to look at. We know we can expect a tough game but I'm looking forward to it.”
On the atmosphere in the SAP Arena:
“The arena in Mannheim is amazing- When you look up and see it's full for both games, to hear fans. It feels really nice to play here in Germany.”
PORTUGAL
Alexandre Cavalcanti (POR) – left back
On the important win over Czechia:
“We played good. We entered the game with one goal: to go to the main round. Some phases were not so good, but overall we did a good game. The most important thing was to play good and go to the next phase.”
On the improvement from the first to the second match:
“The last competition we didn’t start so good in the first game. It happed the same in this one, but I think the first 15, 20 minutes were not so good, but after this not so good phase we managed to play better – better in defence and better in attack. Looking back, the first game was not so good, but we won, and the second game we also won, which was important.”
On the time between the first and the second match:
“We did some meetings, this was important not only for how to play against Czechia, but also for us as a team, to know our mistakes and to try to not do them again. And I think we did well.”
On the upcoming match against Denmark:
“They have a very, very good team, maybe one of the best here. It will be a very good game. We have seen the games how they play, it will be a very hard game for us. First of all, we need to be good in defence because they have a very good attack.
“If we play good in defence and we play fast to make sure we score easy goals, I think we can battle with them and this will be the foundation of our game. Of course, we go on court to win the game. They have a broad team with many good players, but we also a have many good players with quality. Game after game we are improving, so this will be a very nice game to play.”
On how deep Portugal can go in the EHF EURO 2024:
“We can go far, but we need to go step-by-step, game-by-game. Now we have Denmark, and we need to focus on that. Afterwards, we can see what happens next.”
Leonel Fernandes (POR) – left wing
On playing much better against Czechia than in their first match:
“The game [against Czechia] maybe surprised some people, but from the beginning we had the feeling we could guarantee the main round with these two games. So, the first goal is completed; now we have a difficult game against an amazing team. But we want to go in the game with the will to win.”
On where Portugal can hurt Denmark:
“For me, Denmark are a team with a lot of experience, amazing players, a lot of mileage. There are two key things to have a nice match. First is defence: we have to communicate a lot, run a lot, know what we are doing. And then in attack, we have to be patient, because they will cause us trouble. We have to be rational and solve the problems. If we do that, we can at least make the game close and go both sides.”
On teams from other groups that have been impressive so far:
“From what I saw, most teams are what we were expecting from them. I am not impressed by any teams. But for me Denmark are one of the candidates to win this. So, this will be our toughest game.”
DENMARK
Mathias Gidsel (DEN) – right back
On the 40:28 win against Greece:
“We are always happy to win. We never take for granted that we are getting a win. It was a half-half match, a lot of things we weren’t satisfied with. Winning and going through to the main round after two games is of course satisfying, but all these small mistakes we are making – too many easy balls we don’t get, rebounds, all these details that are going to decide the championship in the end. There were too many small mistakes [against Greece] and we know.”
On struggling to keep concentration high when clearly leading a match:
“We in the Danish team always try to become better and better, we also want to show our best handball to the spectators, there was a lot of Danish people in the arena.
“We need to train these small things; it can be hard, when you come to the main round, to just say: ‘Now we are in the main round, now we are going to play the best handball we can.’ We have to train that, and we have to get to a better level than we are right now.”
On Portugal as the last opponents in the preliminary round:
“It’s the group final, and the first big test for us to see how far we are in our progress to become European champions. Because, in the end, that is our goal. Portugal are a team that has been improving since the first game, and we haven’t played at the top level yet. So, we are a little bit excited to see if we can erase all these small mistakes we did in the first two games.
“We have to show, not only for the fans but also for ourselves, that we have the level. It’s a good opportunity to show in the group final against Portugal that we are good enough. I feel we have been too far away from a level where we can say we are serious contenders for the European championship.”
On playing the main round in Hamburg, close to Denmark:
“We are looking forward to playing in Hamburg. We have heard from rumours that there a lot of Danish people there, so we want to improve our game, we want to improve the picture of the Danish team and show our best handball because we have been far from that.”
On other teams at the EHF EURO that have been impressive:
“Of course, we say the history of Faroe Islands, the small country that is coming for the first time to the European championship. Germany also surprised me, here on the home court with all the pressure.”
Emil Nielsen (DEN) - goalkeeper
On the match against Greece, which Denmark won 40:28:
“It’s always a difficult game if you don’t concentrate, and then you can get problems. I feel like we got a great, great start, but had a fallout just after that. It became 9:7, if I remember correctly, but after that we found some solutions. And thank God for that because a close game against Greece is not funny, a close game against a team you don’t know so well.”
On what Denmark can take with them for the next match against Portugal:
“Keeping your focus in such a match (against Greece) is a task that is difficult. But overall, I’m happy with a 12-goal difference, but we have things we can improve. We will work om that and hopefully we will look better [against Portugal].”
