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HAMBURG - Comments from Slovenia head coach Uros Zorman (SLO), right back Jure Dolenec (SLO) and left back Borut Mackovsek (SLO), and Sweden head coach Glenn Solberg (NOR), goalkeeper Andreas Palicka (SWE) and left wing Lucas Pellas (SWE); Denmark head coach Nicolaj Jacobsen (DEN) and right backs Mathias Gidsel (DEN) and Niclas Kirkeløkke (DEN), and Netherlands head coach Staffan Olsson (SWE), centre back Ivar Stavast (NED) and right back Niels Versteijnen (NED); Norway head coach Jonas Wille (NOR) and left wing Kristian Bjørnsen (NOR) and Portugal head coach Paulo Pereira (POR), right wing Pedro Portela (POR) and goalkeeper Diogo Rêma Marques (POR) after Portugal beat Norway 37:32, Denmark beat the Netherlands 37:25, and Sweden beat Slovenia 28:22 at the Barclays Arena on Wednesday.
SLOVENIA vs SWEDEN
Uros Zorman (SLO) – head coach, Slovenia
On the defeat:
“Sweden deserved to win. Today we were without energy on my account but we were fighting till the end. But in fact Sweden was better today.”
Jure Dolenec (SLO) - right back
On the defeat by Sweden:
“We played very badly in the attack in all 60 minutes. In the first 20 minutes, we were able to keep up and played great defence with Klemen Ferlin between the posts.
“After that, it became a lot harder, Andreas Palicka was amazing and we couldn't do anything. I have to be honest, they also had some problems in the attack but they scored some easy goals when we were down. We had some chances in the second half to make the difference, but we failed. It wasn't our day.”
On the next games:
“We did a good job in the group phase and today we had a great chance to make something good. But nothing is over. There is still more to play but it will get tougher. I still believe in this team and that we can fight.”
Borut Mackovsek (SLO) - left back
On the defeat by Sweden:
“At the start, we both had very good defences, Sweden had Andreas Palicka and we had Klemen Ferlin. However, they got four clear counterattacks and made a gap. When you are playing against teams like Sweden it is really hard to catch them. We all know they play fast and they were a better team.”
On the rest of the main round:
“No one knows what can happen at the end of this main round group. We knew we needed to try to reduce the defeat. Every goal counts.”
On the next game against Portugal:
“Portugal are a good team. There are no easy opponents at the European championship. It will be a big fight against them.”
Glenn Solberg (NOR) – head coach, Sweden
On the win:
“We are very satisfied and happy with the win. The team has played a fantastic defence.”
On the team:
“We have built a team with great players that play in the best teams in the world. Everything we do we do for each other.”
Andreas Palicka (SWE) - goalkeeper
On the win against Slovenia:
“The game against Slovenia was very important. After three wins in the group phase, we knew we would face four tough opponents. The play for the game against Slovenia was to play the best game in the tournament so far. We won the game in the defence.
“It was incredible. To get only seven goals in the first half was a great effort. In the second half, right at the start, we had a good come with four goals in a row but later the game became slower. You could see Slovenia was tired and we used that for some easy goals.”
On his performance:
“I have to say we worked a lot in defence, and if the defence is like that, the work I do behind is a lot easier. I can never take tribute for saving the ball without mentioning players in defence.”
On the next game against Denmark:
“Scandinavian derby. We love that kind of game and the European championship can't be better - two fantastic teams; reigning champions and three-time world champions. I hope for a fantastic game for the handball world.”
Lucas Pellas (SWE) - left wing
On their performance:
“We got some easy counterattack goals and that made the difference. We played also good in defence and even if Slovenia made it through we had great Andreas Palicka in the back.”
On the game against Denmark:
“Very tough game. Right now, they are the best team in the world. However, we are not far away and I hope we will show that on Friday and to keep the game tight until the last minute.”
DENMARK vs PORTUGAL
Nicolaj Jacobsen (DEN) – head coach, Denmark
On the match:
“For us it was a tough match and felt definitely tighter than 12 goals difference. Holland played extremely well in the first half.
“In the second half Niklas [Landin] had three great saves; because of that we had fast breaks. This made us more calm and confident. In the last minutes Holland felt a lack of power.”
Mathias Gidsel (DEN) - right back
On the win against the Netherlands:
“The greatest respect for the Netherlands. They played an amazing first half, especially with amazing speed. It was really hard for us to defend. We had to go to the half-time, and talk a little bit in the locker-room about what we could change and it turned out good. The transition from talking to the second half was amazing. Proud to start the main round with a win.“
On Danish play:
“We have an amazing squad, not only the first seven players. We also played fast and over the 60 minutes we were a better team despite the Netherlands keeping to pace. In the end, Niklas [Landin] started to have some saves, they made some mistakes and we punished them well. It was a big strength for us that we were playing at a high level for all 60 minutes.”
On the next game against Sweden:
“It will be a classic game. We played against Sweden many times. We know each other very well, we are playing in the same clubs, we are friends, so we can't surprise each other. It will all depend on the day. It is going to be a tough game and also a key game for us for the semi-finals. We look forward to Friday.“
On Danish fans coming to Hamburg:
“We know there is going to be a lot of our fans on Friday for a game against Sweden, but there were a lot of fans already against the Netherlands and in the group phase in Munich. It is great to play here in Hamburg, and here in Germany, like we did had in Sweden, we always feel like we are almost on home court. We heard rumours many of them are coming against Sweden so it will me amazing to play that key game.”
On Emil Jakobsen's injury:
“We don't know what happened. We just know he will go to the hospital now and let's just keep our fingers crossed he will be OK and ready for the next matches. Maybe not against Sweden but for later.”
Niclas Kirkeløkke (DEN) - right back
On the reason for the Danish win:
“It was a close match for a long period of time. The Netherlands played good with a lot of tempo but in the end, we could substitute a bit more and they got a little bit tired.”
On the Netherlands keeping up for 40 minutes:
“The Netherlands have a good team. We played against them a lot, it was a bit back and forth, but our possibility to continue over 60 minutes what will keep us winning. If they show they can beat us we will need to run more.”
On the upcoming game against Sweden:
“Sweden are one of the greatest teams in the world. Of course, it is going to be really difficult, but our main task now is to rest and prepare for it. Sweden also won all the games so far, we have to see how their game against Slovenia will go, but I hope we will have a great match for the fans.”
(DEN) - right back
On the reason for the Danish win:
“It was a close match for a long period of time. The Netherlands played good with a lot of tempo but in the end, we could substitute a bit more and they got a little bit tired.”
On the Netherlands keeping up for 40 minutes:
“The Netherlands have a good team. We played against them a lot, it was a bit back and forth, but our possibility to continue over 60 minutes what will keep us winning. If they show they can beat us we will need to run more.”
On the upcoming game against Sweden:
“Sweden are one of the greatest teams in the world. Of course, it is going to be really difficult, but our main task now is to rest and prepare for it. Sweden also won all the games so far, we have to see how their game against Slovenia will go, but I hope we will have a great match for the fans.”
Staffan Olsson (SWE) – head coach, Netherlands
On the loss:
“It was a tough match with two different half-times. In the first half we played well and it was clear what to do. In the second we were falling down in the defence and had many technical mistakes. The Danish team punished our mistakes with fast breaks.”
Ivar Stavast (NED) - centre back
On the defeat against Denmark:
“It was good to see we were able to change a lot and that not only seven players who played most of the matches so far, and also to see we did a good job for quite a good time.
“Unfortunately, in only five minutes they turned the three-goal lead to eight. And that is the difference from the top teams like Denmark and us for the moment. It is a good thing for us that we are coming and progressing, to be closer to them for a longer time but also too bad to see at the end the difference was so high.”
On the clash against Norway:
“Norway may lose against Portugal but I know they will analyse the game to see what went wrong. We know we will not have an easy time. Norwegians are not satisfied so far and they will want their revenge. But we also want to win the games in the main round and we will do our best to do it.”
Niels Versteijnen (NED) - right back
On keeping up with Denmark:
“It is a positive thing to see we can play against them. We did some practice games against them in the past and it was clear from the first second they would win. Now, it was different and we showed in the first half we could do it.
“We can be proud of scoring 17 goals against them at half-time. Too many mistakes in the second half unfortunately ended in high defeat.”
NORWAY vs PORTUGAL
Jonas Wille (NOR) – head coach, Norway
On the match:
“It is a tough time for us. We expected more points by now. In this game, we had a lot of missed shots and technical fouls. The attacking was good for 15 minutes but we never managed to stabilise defence and goalkeepers.”
Kristian Bjørnsen (NOR) - left wing
On the defeat by Portugal:
“I feel very disappointed right now. We started the game pretty good, as we did in the past, but we have too many periods that were not enough. We were making too many mistakes which Portugal punished.”
On the Norwegian problems in the game:
“The drops in the games are our challenge in the whole tournament. We are trying to keep a high tempo and pace the whole game but we didn't succeed today. We will have to work on that if we want to get back to the play we want.”
Paulo Pereira (POR) – head coach, Portugal
On the win:
“This was a great match. My players followed the plan of the game. It is hard to prepare games with one day rest. But by now we have three victories. Now let’s see what we can do against Slovenia.”
Pedro Portela (POR) - right wing
On the win against Norway:
“Amazing performance for the team, for this group. It is very important for us after we were defeated by Denmark. We proved against Norway that we are a great team as we were able to beat another strong opponent.”
On the difference between the game against Denmark and Norway:
“We learned in the first game and the main difference was our defence. We did a great performance defensive-wise and it changed the flow of the game. In the attack, we played also very good and we tried to create difficulties for Norway and we succeeded in our attempt.”
Diogo Rêma Marques (POR) - goalkeeper
On the win against Norway:
“We came without points because our group was Denmark which is a great team. But we knew we wanted to continue winning games and do as good as possible for our country. You saw that today. We prepared very well for the game against Norway, and watched a lot of videos. We know we can play a good physical part and I think we showed that.”
On the next game against Slovenia:
“Slovenia have great centre backs and I think we need to prepare the same way we did against Norway. If we repeat all good things from the first match of the main round then we can win again.”
TEXT: European Handball Federation
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