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COLOGNE - Comments from Germany head coach Alfred Gislason (ISL) and goalkeeper David Späth (GER) and left back Julian Köster (GER), and Hungary head coach Chema Rodriguez (ESP) and line players Bence Bánhidi (HUN) and Adrián Sipos (HUN); France head coach Guillaume Gille (FRA), line player Ludovic Fabregas (FRA) and goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene (FRA), and Austria right wing Robert Weber (AUT) and right back Janko Bozovic (AUT); Croatia head coach Goran Perkovac (CRO), left back Zvonimir Srna (CRO), Iceland head coach Snorri Stein Guðjónsson (ISL), left wing Bjarki Mar Elisson (ISL) and goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson (ISL) after Iceland beat Croatia 35:30, France beat Austria 33:28 and Germany beat Hungary 35:28 in main round group I at the LANXESS arena on Monday.
GERMANY vs HUNGARY
Alfred Gislason (ISL) - head coach, Germany
On the victory:
“I’m extremely happy that we managed to win the match. We still have the possibility to go to the semi-finals with this victory but only if we win the next match against Croatia. And I am happy that my players played very well today. We will see how good they will do in two days.”
David Späth (GER) - goalkeeper
On the game:
"It was a tough one, but we expected that because the Hungary team is a really good one. They played really good in the first half but our defence managed to adapt after the break and Andreas Wolff could make a couple of saves as well. It's good we were able to win tonight as the road to the semi-finals is now easier. We just have to win on Wednesday and things will be done."
On watching France vs Austria before Germany vs Hungary:
"We did not really watch, but we looked at our phones to know the results. We tried to focus on our own game but, in the meantime, we could not help but watch."
On the importance of their next game against Croatia:
"It is a proper quarter-final for us, even though it is not for them. But I can't imagine Croatia players not trying to win their final game in the tournament. It will be hard, but we saw the atmosphere tonight and of course, we want to play at least two more games here in Cologne."
Julian Köster (GER) - left back
On the game:
"It was a really hard one, but we did not expect anything else. Hungary were in front of us before the game so that shows their quality. The first half was not that good for us, we made a lot of mistakes on both sides of the court. The second half was much better, we were more together, as a team, especially in defence. That helped us a lot."
On his personal performance:
"I am really happy I could help the team by scoring those goals, but really I'm happier about the win. We played together during 60 minutes, and I just happened to be the one scoring."
On the atmosphere in the LANXESS arena:
"It's always crazy, really loud and passionate. The fans really helped us today, just like they did since the beginning of the tournament. What can I say that has not been said before? They even cheered for France in the previous game, I've heard. That's fun and really good to hear."
Chema Rodriguez (ESP) – head coach, Hungary
On the defeat:
“I can’t say too much, they were hard defending. We were not competitive today. In the second half we had a lot of problems to defend them. Then [Andreas] Wolff started to save and it is difficult.
On their performance:
“We now know our position. We try to start to win against this kind of national teams but today it wasn’t enough. I’m so proud of my players, they gave 100 per cent.”
Bence Bánhidi (HUN) – line player
On the game:
"It was really hard for us, especially that second half. The first part of the second half was really hard, everything went wrong. We made too many stupid mistakes, we lost many balls and their goalkeeper did not even have to make that much saves. And when they got in front, we were not able to come back."
On what was missing for Hungary:
"We tried everything, but it did not work. That second half was really bad, as neither our offence or our defence worked efficiently. We will definitely have to give a better performance if we want to beat France."
Adrián Sipos (HUN) – line player
On the game:
"Tough one for us, as we did not manage to handle their offence properly. They were really confident, but also because we did not stop them. And when we don't defend that well, it's hard for the goalkeepers to make saves. Collectively, we have to be stronger if we want to win big games like this."
On the fact they now have to beat France to reach the semi-finals:
"That's the way it is, for me it will be do or die. But I'm sure we will be ready for the fight. We will give everything, just like we did since the first game and see what happens."
FRANCE vs AUSTRIA
Guillaume Gille (FRA) – head coach, France
On the match:
“First of all I want to congratulate Ales and his team because tonight they showed us why they are standing in this group, because they played a very good handball and they were making us a lot of pressure.
“We had some difficulties to find a solution in this game so we are very proud of the semi-final and we are expecting a big fight to the last weekend of this tournament. But for sure Austria has made a historical way in this tournament and it’s really impressive.”
Ludovic Fabregas (FRA) – line player
On the game:
"There was a bit of tension at the start of the game, we did not play too well, especially in the defence. Things got better in the second half, especially in the last part where we could see that we were taking the upper hand.
“Maybe the Austria team was a little bit tired, even if they played really good again tonight. They proved why they are playing at this level. But our defence was really good in the second half and we helped Samir Bellahcene a lot."
On France being qualified for the semis:
"It's great, but we don't want to stop just yet. We have bigger things in mind and the qualification is just a step. It reminds everyone how good a handball country France is, because this is another semi-final. We have been hungry for titles in the past couple of years, and I hope we can finally get one tonight."
On his head injury:
"It's more impressive than anything else, to be honest. There was a lot of blood, it hurt a little bit but now it is fine. I think the Austrian centre back's [Lukas Hutecek] hand landed on my eyebrow when he shot, and it opened the skin. But nothing serious."
Samir Bellahcene (FRA) - goalkeeper
On qualification for the semi-final:
"It's great and this final weekend is going to be huge. It's great that I can be a part of it, even though I still don't know who we will be playing against. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm very happy we managed to qualify before the last game, so it will take a little bit of pressure away."
On France being supported by the German fans:
"It definitely helped us, but I did not understand what was happening at the beginning. But then, I bumped into Rune Dahmke and Juri Knorr and they both thanked me, so I realised that Germany needed a France win. It was actually very nice to get 20,000 people behind us even though we were not playing at home. It gave me an extra boost in the last minutes of the game."
Robert Weber (AUT) - right wing
On the game:
"We lacked a little bit of fuel in the last 10 minutes, like we did against Germany. But against Germany, we had a problem and we were four goals ahead, this time we were level and we finish five goals behind. We still can be very proud on how we played, for 50 minutes we played level with one of the best teams in the world."
On Austria getting their first defeat of the tournament:
"It had to happen at some point, unless we won the EURO, and it's already nuts that we only lost our first game after seven games. Given what we showed, there is no way it is going to put our heads down, we played very good and there was a lot of motivation within the team. The last game will be very important so now is important to take a rest."
Janko Bozovic (AUT) - right back
On his performance after being away for two games:
"I'm happy I could come back as I was sick for a couple of days. It was great, great game and I'm happy I was able to help the team. We only played not so good in the last 10 minutes, where we missed a lot of shots but otherwise, we still gave France a run for their money."
On the LANXESS arena supporting France:
"I can understand, they supported them because Germany needed us to lose. We did not mind, I think it's better to play when the fans are against you, but not in a bad way, than when they just don't care about the game. It was a very nice atmosphere, and to be honest, I don't expect anything less for our last game against Iceland."
CROATIA vs ICELAND
Goran Perkovac (CRO) – head coach, Croatia
On the defeat:
“They punished our mistakes today and we made a lot of mistakes, too much. I can’t understand how we could lose this game because everything was okay up until the second half. Too many lost chances, too many technical mistakes and in the end it was 35:30.”
On their performances in the EHF EURO:
“We have trouble in our games in this tournament because it was always the same, the opponent has nothing to do other than to punish our mistakes. It was a big problem in the last three games. I’m disappointed now but we have trouble to find reasons. I want to stay behind my team and say the responsibility for energy, for them not fighting enough is my responsibility and I stay behind my team.”
On the upcoming game against Germany:
“Like everybody, we want to win every game, did it for every game until now, but it can’t be a good situation to try to do something. Thirty thousands people against you, everybody is against you and to be against the best Germans is a big pressure.”
Zvonimir Srna (CRO) - left back
On the game:
"We can't be happy about our performance and the result, of course. We fought for 60 minutes but obviously, this was not enough. Our offence was way too slow to surprise them, even though they missed players.
“In the second half, we lost too many balls, we missed too many shots and they could score three or four in a row. It's tough, but I think our second half was pretty bad."
On the errors Croatia made:
"I don't know whether it's pressure or something else. But it's not possible to play eye in the eye with Iceland when you make that many mistakes. I really don't know what happened."
On Croatia now being out of the tournament:
"We knew what was at stake and of course, it hurts. But when you don't win the games, that's what happened. There is one game left on Wednesday, at least we want to leave the EURO with our heads up."
Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson (ISL) – head coach, Iceland
On the match:
“Of course I am very happy about the team, the two points, our performance. We were not playing efficiently through the tournament, so that was clearly the best game for us.
“Before the game we had some problems with the team and we entered the game with a red card. So, I am just proud of the guys, proud of my team.
“We are playing very good in all aspects of the game. In the beginning maybe we had some problems in the defence and not helping the goalkeeper but [Björgvin Pall] Gustavsson made a good game and kept us in the game. Second half was really good from us. We clocked down the 60 minutes and it was just a good game and great spirit of my team.”
On Gisli Kristjansson’s injury:
“He got the foot injury and he is in the hospital now, that’s everything I know. But it looks very good and we hope for the best.”
Bjarki Mar Elisson (ISL) - left wing
On the game:
"I'm very happy about the win but also the way we played. We managed to play very good on both sides of the court, but especially in defence, where we stopped a lot of their tries. That gave us some opportunities to score quick goals, easy goals as well, especially in the second half."
On missing key players Ómar Ingi Magnusson and Janus Smarason:
"It was tough, even more so since we lost Gisli Kristjansson very early in the game. But I'm really proud of the team as we really fought 100 per cent. That was the plan, to fight and to give everything on the court, no matter who was playing. We did and we took the points so we are very happy."
On the chances for Iceland to still qualify:
"I guess we will have to see what happens tonight, but we can see that the dream is still alive. We did everything that was in our power to keep it alive, now it's out of our hands. Hopefully, the results tonight will turn our way and we will still have something to play for on Wednesday."
Björgvin Pall Gustavsson (ISL) - goalkeeper
On the game:
"It was a tough one, everybody is tired, we had two sick players [Ómar Ingi Magnusson and Janus Smarason] who stayed at the hotel and we lost Gisli [Kristjansson] and Ýmir Gíslason in the first ten minutes. I don't know what his injury is, but he couldn't come back. Our defence was the key especially in the second half, when they did not score for a few minutes and we were able to break away."
On his performance:
"I'm really happy I was able to help the team but I do think the defence did a great job tonight. Their backcourt players could not score or pass properly and in that situation, it is easier when you are a goalkeeper. We were physically ready, mentally also, and I think that it showed on the court."
TEXT: EHF / Kevin Domas
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