BERLIN - Comments from North Macedonia head coach Kiril Lazarov (MKD) and line player Milan Lazarevski (MKD), Germany head coach Alfred Gislason (ISL), left wing Rune Dahmke (GER) and centre back Juri Knorr (GER), Switzerland head coach Michael Suter (SUI), line player Lukas Laube (SUI) and goalkeeper Nikola Portner (SUI), and France head coach Guillaume Gille (FRA), line players Ludovic Fabregas (FRA), Karl Konan (FRA) after Switzerland drew 26:26 with France and North Macedonia lost to Germany 25:34 in preliminary round group A at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Sunday.

NORTH MACEDONIA vs GERMANY 

Kiril Lazarov (MKD) – head coach, North Macedonia

On the game:
"Germany deserved to win. They already showed a similar performance already against Switzerland.

“I am not satisfied today. We had 15 technical mistakes which makes it mission impossible to compete against a team like Germany.”

On the game against Switzerland:
"We have to be prepared and play much better than today.“

On Germany vs France:
“France has the best team of the last 20 years. They have the best players and the best bench. I think Germany playing at home is almost on the same level as France.“

Milan Lazarevski (MKD) - line player

On the game:
“We made some stupid mistakes in the first 10 minutes and Germany almost immediately took four or five goals advantage. Afterwards, we were not that bad but it took us too long to get into the game. When Germany are ahead, they have so much experience that it is hard for the other team to catch up.”

On why North Macedonia took so long to get into the game:
“Maybe Germany were too physical for us, as we have a lot of small players, I don’t know. They chose to play really fast, we decided to turn down the tempo but it did not work. When it comes to players, we have a lot of qualities, but we can’t make so many mistakes. We only have to blame ourselves.”

On North Macedonia meeting their expectations during the competition:
“We did not, to be honest. Maybe people did not expect to beat such strong teams, but we thought we could do it. Otherwise, why come? Both times we played good for 40 minutes, but that was not enough. We can’t be satisfied with only that, not satisfied at all. It’s a good thing for the experience but we know we still have to improve a lot.”

On the last game against Switzerland:
“We want to go home with at least a win, so we will give 100 per cent on Tuesday. We want to thank our fans who travelled to support us, we want to make ourselves proud as well by winning, even though we are now eliminated.”

Alfred Gislason (ISL) - head coach, Germany

On the win:
"We had a lot of difficulties in defence in the first half with their seven against six players. We have not moved well enough and had not enough goalkeeping. On the positive side, we had some good counterattacks and fast middles.

“In the second half we played better in defence. David Späth came very good into the game. Overall we deserved to win.“

On the atmosphere in the arena:
“It was very positive, almost like a friendly match. I saw also a lot of fans from Northern Macedonia who supported their team well.“

On individual performances:
"Juri Knorr got some criticism in the recent past. He is playing differently now, moves better and  plays more for the other back players. Also he is becoming better in defence. He is still young and continuously developing.

“[Justus] Fischer and [Sebastian] Heymann played very well against the fast North Macedonian players. Nils Lichtlein has scored a nice goal and made one technical error. Overall he played very well and will get more minutes in the future.”

On the next game:
"We will have to show the best game in the last years to beat France. We know that we have good chances but we have to do our job.

“The game against France will be extremely important as we need the two points for the main round.”

Rune Dahmke (GER) – left wing

On the game:
“We made things easy for ourselves by starting off the game really well. It was important so we would not doubt. We pushed 100 per cent right away and our defence did an amazing job again. Within 10 minutes, we were already ahead and had the good rhythm.”

On the defence being Germany’s strong point:
“It was the same in the first game against Switzerland. Sure, we were not going to take only 14 goals again, but defence is the easiest way to win a game. You get fastbreaks opportunities, you score easy goals and it plays in your opponents’ heads. And when your goalkeepers are good, it is just the icing on the cake.”

On the transfer from Dusseldorf to Berlin:
“Of course, this is not the same arena, but the fans push us the same way. They were really loud tonight. This arena we know very well, we come here often and we know the Berlin crowd will be a big help for us. We will need them again on Tuesday.”

Juri Knorr (GER) – centre back

On the game:
“We took the best start and used every opportunity to push the balls and play fast. The plan was not to let them hope for anything and we did just that. Once we had the advantage, we tried to improve it.

“It’s good that we have been able to rotate the team, to give time to everyone so everybody can rest a little bit. We are now qualified for the main round, so we still have a lot of games to go and we need everyone to be fit.”

On his Player of the Match award:
“It’s great, but it’s more a reward for the whole team than just me. We gave a very good team performance and if it means scoring 10 goals for me then fine. But at the end of the day, what’s more important is that we got the points.”

On the Berlin fans:
“It was great, they were really helpful tonight. I knew they would be, but it is still mentioning. It’s great to see many smiling faces in the public, great to have such a support. We will need the fans again on Tuesday, as the game against France will be even tougher than tonight’s.”

SWITZERLAND vs FRANCE

Michael Suter (SUI) – head coach

On the game:
"We have tried to build up the atmosphere in the team after the loss against Germany. We have believed in the character of the team.

“We were in the match most of the time. In the final phase we were playing five against six players. So in the end we have to accept the tie.

"Our pivot play with Andy [Schmid] and Lukas [Laube] worked very well. Big compliments to my team for the way they came back from the defeat against Germany."

On the chances for progression:
"We are not calculating yet. We want to enjoy the moment. The decision will be most likely between Germany and France.“

Lukas Laube (SUI) – line player

On the game:
“We always said that it would be important for us to keep in touch with France as much as possible, and that’s exactly what we did. Even when they were leading by four in the second half, we did not panic and we used the seven against six to find solutions. We could feel that they had doubts, especially as they did not score that many goals.”

On taking a point after a bad game on Wednesday:
“It’s good obviously, I’m sure a lot of people saw the game against Germany and thought we would have no chance today. But it actually gave us a huge boost to wake up.”

On the Player of the Match award:
“I’m happier with the point than with the award. It’s great, but if I did not have any good passes, I would not score. So yes, I scored 10, but that’s it.”

Nikola Portner (SUI) – goalkeeper

On taking a point against France:
“We take a point against a team that travelled to the EHF EURO looking for the gold medal, what can I say? This is amazing, but also a great reward for a team that did not let go and did not give up after the game on Wednesday. We worked hard, knowing that what we showed then was not exactly what we are worth, and we proved it today.”

On his own performance:
“I want to thank my defence because they did a lot of work for me to have easy saves. Of course, I know some of the French players because I played there, but it does not matter in games like those. I did my job, the defence did its job and the combination of the two worked perfectly.”

On the chances for Switzerland to proceed:
“At least we will not play the last game for nothing, as when it starts, we will still have a chance. We will give everything, try to beat a good team of North Macedonia, but it is not in our hands now.”

Guillaume Gille (FRA) - head coach

On the 26:26 draw with Switzerland:
“After such a fight it is difficult to find the right words. It was a tight game. We had lots of situations which we could have handled better and much more effectively.

“Switzerland played a tough match. Especially the seven against six players was very difficult for us. In particular the play between pivot and back players worked very well for them. We never underestimated the Swiss team. Against Germany they have not shown their true ability to play."

On the next matches:
“We have to build up the work in the team and hope to find a better rhythm in the next matches.”

On the game against Germany:
“The arena will be packed and it will be difficult to beat Germany in their home tournament. We have to analyse this game and ask ourselves how to raise the level of our game to be able to win."

Ludovic Fabregas (FRA) - line player

On the game against Switzerland:
“It is frustrating for us, to be honest. Of course, they can celebrate as they took a point against us and no one expected them to. But we can’t look down, we did not lose and we still have our fate in our hands. Of course, we would have preferred to win, but let’s keep in mind that nothing’s over.”

On the difficulties France had to control the Swiss line players:
“They played seven against six very well and we never found solutions to control their line players. It is hard to defend against Andy Schmid, he is a great passer and he can also shoot. We were in trouble and struggled, to be honest. Respect to them, they were able to find solutions and to score goals. We will have to fix some things before the next game against Germany, as they also have very good line players.”

On saving a point:
“It’s better than nothing, losing would really have put us in the shit. At least now we know that if we win against Germany, we have a big chance to still go through. But we have been warned, we will have no second chance to fail.”

Karl Konan (FRA) - line player

On the game:
“It took us a lot of time to adjust on the line players, even though we took 26 goals, I do not think we were able to adapt enough. We also missed great opportunities to score, open shots and that costs us the point.”

On still being able to qualify for the main round:
“That’s the main thing, taking a point keeps us alive and we know we still have a chance. Of course, tonight’s result is frustrating as this is clearly not what we were hoping for, but at least we managed to save a point. We will play 100% against Germany and hope to take a win that would take us through.”

On Samir Bellahcene’s first game at the EHF EURO:
“He’s afraid of nothing and he proved that tonight. He delivered right from the minute he entered the court and helped us a lot. He was a great asset for the team and with such goalkeepers’ performances, we feel more safe as defenders.”