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COLOGNE - Comments from Sweden head coach Glenn Solberg (NOR), Slovenia centre back Miha Zarabec (SLO), Portugal line player Luís Frade (POR) and right wing António Areia (POR), and Denmark centre back Rasmus Lauge (DEN) and line player Simon Hald (DEN) at media calls on Monday.
SWEDEN
Glenn Solberg (NOR) - head coach, Sweden
On Sweden's semi-final ticket:
“I am very, very satisfied with our performance at the tournament. We have got good development on the tournament, with each game. We lost only by one goal against Denmark in a fantastic game and we are proud of that game as well. We are in the semi-finals, which was our main goal and we are now just excited about coming to Cologne.”
On Sweden as a team:
“You can really see that Sweden are all about being a group. We have a lot of good players, we do changes and everybody got to be on the court and everybody do what they can. We are trying to work together and move forward together, to make each other good, on and off the court. We are living our values and I am very proud of this group. Us being the team with the big 'T' is still our biggest strength.”
On the pressure in Cologne:
“Pressure is always there, but when you get to the semi-finals, only small details can decide. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but we have shown stability and I think we will once again show that we are part of the best four teams and hope we will reach the final again.”
On the next game against Norway:
“Hopefully, it will be a good game between two strong teams. We are ready for the semi-finals and we have the opportunity to maybe rest some of the players. We will use that opportunity to rest the players that are tired and had the most minutes on the court. Our main focus is Friday in Cologne.”
On who he sees in Cologne with Denmark and Sweden:
“I think it will be Germany with France there.”
SLOVENIA
Miha Zarabec (SLO) - centre back
On the win against the Netherlands and performance:
“The feeling after winning is great. We got back on track and we played like we know. Yet, now when I look back, we could have done better. I am sad about the game against Portugal. That was a match we should have won. We feel sad as we know a win in that game would have given us a chance to fight for fifth place in Cologne for sure.”
On the game against Denmark:
“We never won against Denmark. It will be a tough game. I want to show we can fight against top teams. We all know the great players they have, and how good a tournament they have so far. We both will enter the game without any pressure. We will try to enjoy that game and if we make it to the 50th minute at some kind of level, maybe we can hope for something more. It will be similar to the game against Sweden, if we make too many mistakes, they will punish us quickly. We need to slow down the tempo and be patient in the attack.”
On the Danish team:
“They can rest even 10 players, it doesn't matter. They have amazing players and no matter who plays, they are playing at a high level. The players not playing as much so far will most likely get their chance and will use it to show their skills. Nikolaj [Jacobsen] is an amazing coach and he knows that every player on the court will give his best to win the game. I said, for us, maybe it is better we don't see Landin on the goal, he knows us very well and playing against him was never easy for Slovenia. Nevertheless, we need to be focused on our game.”
On the possibility of going to Cologne for the match for fifth place:
“It would be amazing to be there. But we are aware we depend on the game of Portugal and the Netherlands. I feel very sad that we lost that game against Portugal. We would deserve to be in Cologne, but we had some problems during the tournament, players missing.
"We did an OK tournament so far - it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad, either. We need to end it on a positive note, not allow Denmark to overrun us and be prepared for a new gathering in March. We have Olympic Games qualifications in our mind.”
PORTUGAL
Luís Frade (POR) — line player
On the feeling in the team following the defeat to Sweden:
“First of all, tired. I think it was a really demanding game. Sweden is an amazing team. They play on a really high tempo, so it was a bit harsh for us. I think we did well, now thinking with a cold head, seeing what we’ve done. We played a nice game, but we couldn’t make it.
"It was a dream for us to win and to be in a really nice position to go to the semis. But we still have our goals intact and just have to go through the Netherlands and hope to reach the fifth and sixth place game.”
On the chance to reach the 5/6 match for the second time in three EHF EUROs:
“It means at least that the Portuguese handball is doing a step forward and is trying to fight for its place in the European plan. I think it’s amazing for us that in three competitions we are fighting twice for that spot, but we just need to keep improving. We have a really young team now that is playing quite well. And I think in one or two years we can be even more dangerous, so we just need to focus now on this competition and then hope for the best in the next years.”
On the strong performance in general, results aside:
“At least at the beginning, we struggled a bit to find our rhythm in defence because in attack I think that we have amazing players with amazing individual character that can make a difference. But on the defence aspect, I think that we struggled a bit in the beginning, but now we find our rhythm. We find our way to defend and our way to enter the game, and I think that was really good for us and that helped us to be on the level that we are now. It was good for us. We just have to keep improving.”
On his expectations against the Netherlands:
“If we are tired now, for sure against them we will be more tired! It’s a team that plays really good on the transitions. They run a lot. I think that 50 per cent of their goals are made by counter attacks so we have to have special attention to that. And then they have, not new players, but some of the players are doing a step forward on that team, like last game the right back [Niels Versteijnen] scored 15 goals. It’s amazing. So, we have to have to study them first of all. We have to think of ourselves as well, but we’re going to see some videos and try to figure out the best way to beat them.”
On the chance of reaching the Olympic qualification tournaments:
“That was our main goal. After reaching the main round, our main goal was to go to the pre-Olympic tournament. What can I say? If we win all the games that we have in front of us, maybe we can reach the pre-Olympic tournament, and that’s our goal.”
António Areia (POR) — right wing
On the feeling in the team after the match against Sweden:
“Tough loss, but at the same time, we knew that it would be a hard game against Sweden, one of the best teams in the world. And we just have to make our pride intact because we put ourselves in a position that we depend on only one game to reach the semi-finals and that’s amazing for Portugal handball, so we have to be proud and we don’t think now anymore about that game. Stay focused on the main goal we have, which is pre-Olympic qualification and the 5/6 match.”
On the performance this EURO, considering the great campaign in 2020 but some disappointments at championships since:
“It’s still amazing because in 2020, we were like the underdogs and no one knew us. We started to grow up and in the last few years, the Portuguese handball has made really good improvements in the clubs and also the national team. But in the last competitions, we didn’t get so far like we wanted, so of course this feeling it’s like we are at our level again.
"I read some things that some people say that Portugal could be a disappointment in this tournament and that made us a little angry also. We fight for our goals and it’s good because we have a really young group and a really young team, but the ambition is crazy. These kids and also the more experienced guys, they work really good together and I think we can put it together and work really hard, and that proves that we can make like a position to reach the semi-finals. We didn’t get it, but we can still make history for our country.”
On maintaining consistency now they reached their level again:
“That’s maybe the hardest part and the hardest work to do when we play on the high level, because of course you have some teams who go up and down really often and you have teams like Denmark, Sweden, France who make that consistency really good.
"We have to learn about these years and try to put our level, our work, try to be all the time like we are here in the European championship. So we cannot make a good result now and think that our job is done for the next years. We have to learn this way, it’s the better way to do it and the next generations also have to start to think about what they really want and have to continue this process that Portuguese handball has been making, and I think that’s the way to think.
On the Netherlands:
“We will fight like hell in this match because it’s a really important match for us. If we make the game, if we reach again 5/6 placement, we can make history for our country. The best position was sixth in 2020, so we want to be in fifth. And that’s our main goal for this competition — always has been our main goal.
"If we reached the semi-finals, it was like a bonus. But now we are totally focused on that game and nothing else. It’s important that we prepare ourselves good, our bodies good and also the game and tactics good to be there and beat them and then depend only on ourselves.”
DENMARK
Rasmus Lauge (DEN) — centre back
On the match against Norway:
“The match was excellent, especially the first half was really, really good from outside. We played some fantastic tempo. We made some adjustments in our defence, which was, in general, the last two games, too defensive. We wanted to be more aggressive and more acting instead of just letting everything come by itself, so that was a huge difference.
“Of course, Emil [Nielsen] in the goal was also on another level and our attack, we were flying around, making the right decisions, making the ball, making the job. Overall, this first half was just setting the tone for this game and after that, it was just a matter of getting this victory secured. In the second half, it was kind of exchanging goals, how it can be in these kinds of situations.”
On their fast goals and hardly any time in positional attack:
“The games that we won and the halves that we won clearly, that was the picture. We wanted to stabilise our defence more than we did against the Netherlands and Sweden, and we really made these adjustments fast and it came quite naturally. Then we made the conditions much better for Emil [Nielsen] in the goal.
“By all means, when you play defence like that, it’s an advantage for the counter attack, which we, in the beginning or in the first half, scored much more goals in the fast break than we did in the second half.”
On whether speed on counter attacks is a key area of focus for the team since the last events:
“It comes pretty natural for our team to play fast and to try to make the fast breaks there. Of course, it’s a focus point of ours to play fast handball and to run the counter attacks, because it’s the easy goals. It’s the goals that you don’t really work for.
“You work in the defence but then you don’t have to go on the other side and struggle and fight with their guys. So to play with this kind of speed and to play it without hardly any mistakes is, for every team, the best weapon and what every team is trying to achieve.”
On being in the semi-finals as group winners and facing a game they do not need to win:
“It’s going to be a match that we approach like every other match. I know that it doesn’t ‘count’ for anything, but it counts for our self-esteem, for our worth, and for our morale, actually. Then it’s about finding this mix, this balance to rest some players that have played a lot of minutes and probably we will not see them play any minutes, which is fully OK.
“Then you will see a lot of the guys that didn’t play too many minutes have a big role in these games and for them and for us, for everybody, who plays, the 16 guys who play, it's an important game, also to show Nikolaj [Jacobsen] that you’re ready for the next phase if he needs you, because sometimes it can be that you’re struggling and you need the 15th and 16th man on the bench. That’s what it's all about, and then it’s about keeping the streak alive, to not lose any points. That’s the goal of us.”
On the streak and not getting too far ahead of themselves with how strong they are looking:
“That’s a difficult part. I’m not going to lie. It’s a difficult part because everybody’s looking forward to the semi-final, but we have one match left. But we are professionals. We know that these kind of situations can occur and that’s just sport.
“You know sometimes in these main round phases you can play these games that have actually nothing at stake, but you have to find this internal motivation and there is enough of that in our team. Everybody knows what they are worth and everybody wants to play some minutes and you’re not going to play any minutes if you don’t show the coach now that you’re ready for it, so I think that’s motivation enough.”
On Slovenia:
“We know them quite good. The guys are playing in a lot of the biggest clubs in Europe, so we have a lot of knowledge about them and let’s see how they are going to approach the game also, because it could be worth nothing for them as well. So let’s see how they approach the game. This game is much more a matter of pride, and hopefully we’re going to show or get the upper hand.”
Simon Hald (DEN) — line player
On Denmark’s defence against Norway:
“It came along really good. We have a lot of good defensive players, and with the two goalkeepers that we have, it also gives some sort of security in our defence. We know if we stick to the plan, most of the time they’re going to have some really good percentages. Overall, it has been looking quite well.”
On the adjustments in their defence during the EURO:
“It was clear after the match against Sweden that we wanted to have our backs a little bit higher on the pitch and take some of the pressure a little bit away. I think that we succeeded with that, and that made it more easy for us in the middle.
“We didn’t get pressured so much back and didn’t get that many centimetres against us as we did against Sweden, where we maybe were a little bit too defensive.”
On the game against Sweden being their only close game and whether that challenge was positive:
“It’s always good to be challenged. Sweden are an incredible team and in my point of view, one of the favourites to win the title, so it was good for us as a squad to play against them.
“I also think that gave us some confidence, that we managed to secure the win even though it got really, really tight in the end. But at least we got the win and then that that gives some confidence in the team.”
On going forward, specifically focused on the defence and how that relates to the attack:
“Every easy goal you get is a real, real big plus. But we also know that the opponents in the next matches are going to look at us and then try to work out our weaknesses, so we have to stay awake and stay really, really sharp because we’re going to meet some really, really good players.”
On the weaknesses and what they can improve:
“I’ve been seeing in some matches where we didn’t concentrate throughout the whole game, we got punished for that and that was on both ends. In some of the matches we started out maybe not that good defensively but then managed to change it in the second half.
“In some of the matches we have started out really good attack, and maybe in the second half, struggled a little bit more and made some errors. We have to keep on improving and making those errors less and less, because the teams are so good, they utilising those errors, so we have to stay sharp throughout the whole game.”
On Slovenia:
“We have to use our feet. We have to fight a lot with the line player. They play a lot of two against two and they have some really, really quick players.
“We often talk about the Slovenian style of handball, with the playmakers. They have a lot of incredibly good playmakers who can make situations out of the nothing. So we have to be sharp and we’ll have to stay awake and also be a little bit offensive and not just stay on our heels.”
TEXT: European Handball Federation
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