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HAMBURG - Comments from Norway head coach Jonas Wille (NOR), left wing Alexandre Blonz (NOR) and right back Harald Reinkind (NOR), and Denmark head coach Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN), goalkeeper Emil Nielsen (DEN) and right back Niclas Kirkeløkke (DEN); Sweden head coach Glenn Solberg (NOR), goalkeeper Tobias Thulin (SWE) and left wing Lucas Pellas (SWE) and Portugal head coach Paulo Pereira (POR), line player Luís Frade (POR) and centre back Martim Costa (POR); Slovenia head coach Uros Zorman (SLO), line player Kristjan Horzen (SLO) and goalkeeper Klemen Ferlin (SLO), and Netherlands head coach Staffan Olsson (SWE), right back Niels Versteijnen (NED) and left wing Kaj Geenen (NED) after Slovenia beat the Netherlands 37:34, Sweden beat Portugal 40:33, and Denmark beat Norway 28:23 in main round group II at the Barclays Arena on Sunday.
NORWAY vs DENMARK
Jonas Wille (NOR) – head coach, Norway
On the match:
“Today we played against a good opponent. The first 20 minutes we played a static attack, and did not win one-against-one situations. We have to learn from that. I am impressed by Denmark, they were a good team with great goalkeepers. But overall, I´m satisfied that we didn’t give up.”
Alexandre Blonz (NOR) - left wing
On the tough game against Denmark:
“We played good in defence in the first half, but we made a lot of mistakes in the attack allowing them to score easy goals. That made the eight-goal difference. Of course, Emil Nielsen on the goal had his say in it.
“It is hard. When you get a chance and not used it, miss too many, then it is hard to play handball at this level. In the second half, we were the better team, but it doesn't matter. It felt like Denmark wasn't playing at their full power.”
On the next game against Sweden:
“For us, the game is about the ranking. The most important things is to play better handball and close this European championship with a better feeling.”
Harald Reinkind (NOR) - right back
On the defeat by Denmark:
“I am disappointed. We were punished hard for our mistakes and we were missing too many shots in the first half. Out of nothing, you are eight goals behind. Denmark don't give up on their lead easily. We started the second half better, with more power and energy, but it wasn't enough.”
On the key difference:
“Denmark have a strong team and play at a high level this tournament. Goalkeeper [Emil Nielsen], had an amazing percentage against us, and you can't fight that.”
On the next game against Sweden:
“We hate to lose against Sweden and I hope we will give it all, and to have a positive thing at the end of the main round. But also, we will enter that game without pressure, shoulders down and try to do our thing.”
Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN) – head coach, Denmark
On the match:
“We played a very good first half, which laid the groundwork for our victory. Our defence and goalkeeper [Emil Nielsen] were extremely good and the key for our win. Norway played a good defence in the second half, which resulted in problems in our attack. I am thankful for our Danish fans, they created a great atmosphere.”
On the semi-finals:
“I do not have any expectations for the semifinal. I will have to wait and see who we are playing against. Before that, we will focus on the match on Tuesday against Slovenia.”
Niclas Kirkeløkke (DEN) - right back
On the win against Norway and securing a place in the semi-finals:
“It feels great. We deserved it, we played good throughout the game and it is a luxury for us to have a game on Tuesday that doesn't mean much to us, but we will still give everything to win. To keep our rhythm.”
On the Danish performance:
“We had a feeling the game went our way, but know how hard it is to play against Norway. They can come back very fast. They had a little chance, but luckily we were able to stop them. We had it in control.”
On the next game against Slovenia:
“Slovenia are a strong team and we saw how they can play when they defeated Norway. They have played a few great matches and showed strong performance.”
Emil Nielsen (DEN) - goalkeeper
On booking a place in the semi-finals:
“We are very happy. Right now, we are satisfied with how we played in defence, so overall I'm just happy. We are playing very well at the moment and I think it is not easy for anyone to play against us. I am excited about going to Cologne.”
On his performance:
“I feel great and comfortable on the court. The defence I have with my team works great. I will try to be on the same level, that is my main objective. If I play well, or Niklas [Landin], we have good chances of winning every match until the end. If Denmark have good goalkeepers, we can do everything.”
On the next game against Slovenia:
“We will do everything to win it. For sure, we will rest some players as the game can't change the outcome, but we will play that game to win it for sure. Right now, we are on the flow and we want to stay on that flow. If we go in against Slovenia and play badly, then everything can change. We need to stay on the same level.”
SWEDEN vs PORTUGAL
Glenn Solberg (NOR) – head coach, Sweden
On the win:
“We are very happy about our win, it was a hard battle, as always against Portugal. Portugal is playing fantastic handball with young players and we had some problems in defence in the first half of the game. But our offence was good.”
Tobias Thulin (SWE) - goalkeeper
On the win against Portugal:
“This was an important game for the whole team. It was like little quarter-finals for us. We had trouble in the first 15 minutes, but in the last 45 minutes we played a good game and we showed how strong a team we are.”
On the key for the win:
“It is hard to say, but at the start, we had problems in defence, but later we became more compact in the defence and helped with our saves. We built on that halftime lead, offence played their part and secured a win.”
On the next game against Norway:
“We always want to win against Norway, it is like a little derby. If we make it through to Cologne, we want to come there with a good feeling.”
Lucas Pellas (SWE) - left wing
On the win against Portugal:
“The game against Portugal was a big game for us and we knew we needed to win. We prepared well, but I still think we should have been better in the defence. We took our opportunities better. We missed a lot in the first half despite the fact we scored 19 goals. Some small details decided things for us and a couple of important saves. We just need to keep working and keep on playing good.”
On the game against Norway:
“Another Scandinavian derby for us. It is special and we want to win, you never want to lose those. Also, it is important for us psychologically to win if we make it to Cologne.”
On the possibility of going through to the semi-finals:
“We will support Denmark now. I think it will be for the first time in my life I cheer from them and probably the only time.”
Paulo Pereira (POR) – head coach, Portugal
On the defeat:
“Sweden is one of the best teams in the world with clear ideas in the game. This is only the second time that I speak second and it was against Sweden and Denmark. If anybody told us we would be in this position we wouldn’t have believed them. I am very proud of my players.”
On Francisco and Martim Costa:
“They are both playing an amazing attack and we also hope to improve their defence in the future.”
Luís Frade (POR) - line player
On the defeat against Sweden:
“It was a tough game. Sweden is not an ordinary team, they play amazingly and they are a team that was built a long time ago and they have very good teamwork. Their goalkeeper Tobias Thulin had a great day and helped them a lot. We have to be proud of what we have done so far. Our goal was the Olympic Games qualification tournament and so far we are still fighting for that.”
On the next game against the Netherlands:
“We have to study them and get good rest, it is a tough tournament. We want to close this main round with a win. However, the Netherlands are a nice team with great players. They put a high tempo on the game and it can be hard to follow with all the intensity at this tournament. We will try to follow and stop their biggest strengths and hope for the best.”
Martim Costa (POR) - centre back
On the Portuguese performance:
“It was a hard game for us. We wanted to win, but we knew it was going to be very difficult against Sweden. We did well in the attack, but we missed some things in defence. Sweden was very good one-on-one and won a lot of duels against our defenders.
“Also, their goalkeeper Tobias Thulin made some important saves and impacted the result. We have to keep our heads high and have a good fight against the Netherlands in the next game. Our objective was that placement match and we depend only on ourselves to reach that objective.”
SLOVENIA vs NETHERLANDS
Uros Zorman (SLO) – head coach, Slovenia
On the win:
“This was a good and fair game, but in the end, we were more successful. I am happy to get these two points, especially because the players are tired and we don’t have many players right now.”
Kristjan Horzen (SLO) - line player
On the importance of the win:
“It was very important to win. We talked in the locker-room before the game we needed to win and we went all or nothing. We had a good start to the tournament and here in the main round, we didn't have a good time. We did a great job against the Netherlands and earned a deserved win.”
On their performance:
“In the first half, we missed many easy shots and we decided the game only in the second half with few Klemen Ferlin saves and we had good defence. We will go 100 per cent again in the next game to feel good.”
On the next game against Denmark:
“We all know who are Denmark. We need to get a good rest ahead of that game. We will go to that game without pressure, play handball as we know and we will see what will happen.”
Klemen Ferlin (SLO) - goalkeeper
On the win against the Netherlands:
“There are still chances for semi-finals, but we need a miracle. For us, the most important thing was to win. In two days we will try to win against Denmark, even though it will be tough.”
On their performance:
“We shouldn't have those mistakes we had. We should not rush and force mistakes, to allow the opponent to come back. But, we are all tired and of course mistakes are happening, not only in our team but also with our opponents.”
Staffan Olsson (SWE) – head coach, Netherlands
On the defeat:
“Slovenia was the better team, I believe we were losing the game in the last 15 minutes. We made some technical mistakes and were missing free shots. But, we showed that we can fight and gave our best. In the end, we got close but were not good enough to win this game.”
Niels Versteijnen (NED) - right back
On his performance:
“It is hard to be happy with 15 goals after we lost the game. I think that will come after the end of the tournament, to think about what I achieved against Slovenia. In two days, we have a new game and we have to be focused on that.”
On the defeat against Slovenia:
“We made mistakes. I made five technical faults, easy fouls and even though I scored 15, I made mistakes that maybe caused our defeat. We came back after being behind and that is the strength of our team.
“We talked at half-time and we said we need to believe in ourselves and need to do it. I think that is what our group is, we believe. No matter how tired we are, and how injuries affected us, we still run and we have to do that in every game.”
On the next game against Portugal:
“It is good for the feeling to have a win at the end of the tournament. We have only two wins from the group phase, against Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we still didn't make it against top teams and we want to achieve that against Portugal.”
Kaj Geenen (NED) - left wing
On the defeat against Slovenia:
“We had too many mistakes and Slovenia damaged us with that a lot. They were very good at that. We came back very good in the second half and we all hoped we could take point or something, but unfortunately not today.”
On the next game against Portugal:
“We have to give everything in that game, which will be the last for us. We have a lot of injuries, and it is tough on us. They are playing good and fast like us, and I think it will be a nice game to watch.”
TEXT: EHF / Danijela Vekić
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