Courtesy: UEFA.com

Semi-finalists more than satisfied

Tuesday, 15 February 2005

Spain and Italy were naturally in an upbeat mood after easing their way into the last four of the UEFA European Futsal Championship while Hungary and Portugal were left to reflect on what might have been. uefa.com rounds up the reaction from Group B after the second matchday in Ostrava.

Italy 5-0 Hungary

The result was very good for us. I was particularly happy with the play of our team. In the second half, we controlled the match, which was important because in the tough schedule of the European Championship you need to control energy and fitness. (Italy coach Alessandro Nuccorini)

Hope is still there. During the first two days we played against the best two teams in the world and it was very tough for our team to keep up. Physically we couldn’t do as much as we wanted after yesterday’s game. We were tired. Still, the players could experience the good play of the Italian team and see the highest level of Futsal. (Hungary coach Mihály Kozma)

Portugal 1-3 Spain

We fought well against a great team, a very well-trained team. This is Futsal. I have nothing more to ask of my players. They gave their all. It was not like our disappointment yesterday, our players showed great heart. (Portugal coach Orlando Duarte)

It was a very evenly balanced match. We knew it was going to be like that. We improved a lot on our performance from the first game. The general feeling among us it that we are happy to be in the semi-finals. (Spain player Kike)