Flash quotes: match day 6

GROUP B

Iceland vs Hungary 31:30

Budapest, 18 January — Quotes from Iceland coach Gudmundur Gudmundsson (ISL), line player Elliði Viðarsson (ISL) and goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson (ISL), and Hungary coach Istvan Gulyas (HUN), centre back Egon Hanusz (HUN) and Zoltan Szita (HUN) after Iceland beat Hungary 31:30 in the preliminary round 3 match in Budapest Handball Arena on Tuesday.

Gudmundur Gudmundsson (ISL) — coach

On the match:

“I want to thank Hungary for a great game — a fantastic handball game. The spectators were fantastic in this beautiful hall, so it was really nice to play today.

“We played today, I think fantastic attack, most of the time. That was clear to me from the beginning. We had problems in defence, especially with the line players. [Bence] Bánhidi was scoring a lot of goals and we had problems against him and the other line players. They’re very physically strong and played very well.

“In the second half I think we found a solution. After five or 10 minutes in the second half we were playing more defensive and we played better.”

On his emotions:

“In the end, I’m very proud of the team. I’ve very happy. For me, I started the project in 2018 with this team, to build it up again. It has been sometimes difficult for us, but I think we are on the way. We can play very, very good handball and we are looking forward to the main round.” 

Elliði Viðarsson (ISL) — line player

On the match:

“I want to say thank you to all the fans from Hungary and Iceland. The atmosphere was superb in the hall today. Like Gudmundur [Gudmundsson] said, it was a really hard game. Physically they have a really strong team and it’s hard to play against them one-against-one and they found the pivot many times. So, it was a really hard game. I would say we were lucky to come out on top today. It could have gone both sides.”

Björgvin Pall Gustavsson (ISL) – goalkeeper

On the atmosphere in the Budapest Handball Arena:

“It was a fierce battle and I am glad that there were not only Hungarian spectators in the arena, but a few fans from home as well. The acoustics are great in the beautiful new venue and the local supporters definitely made our life harder. Hopefully, the vibe will stay like today’s in the upcoming part of the EURO.”

Istvan Gulyas (HUN) — coach

On the match:

“It was a very tough and well-balanced match today. I can repeat what my colleague said, because on our side also the defence was weaker in the first half and we couldn’t cope with the one-to-one attacks of Iceland in this phase of the game.”

On the tournament:

“Obviously we are very, very disappointed and feel sorry about our elimination. We thank the fans from today and the previous matches. Just like Iceland, we are building our team and I hope this team will give many good memories and experiences to the fans in the future.”

Egon Hanusz (HUN) — centre back

On the match:

“I think, as it was said, it was a very well-balanced match, a tight match, a very close match. In the crucial moments, the decisive moments, we made mistakes and that decided the fate of the points this evening. I would like to emphasise my gratitude to the fans of Hungary because I think this was a once-in-my-life moment, this EURO, but I hope that this team will also give joyful moments in the future for our fans.”

Zoltan Szita (HUN) – left back

On the defeat:

“It is hard to say anything, we had too many mistakes, especially in crucial situations, this way no one can win a match. We knew Iceland will be a tough opponent, they have good quality players and we did not even have any luck today. I have to say a massive thank you to our fans, the atmosphere and their support was amazing, we hope to compensate for them in the future.”

Netherlands vs Portugal 32:31

Budapest, 18 January — Quotes from Netherlands coach Erlingur Richardsson (ISL) and right wing Bobby Schagen (NED) and centre back Luc Steins (NED), and Portugal coach Paulo Pereira (POR), centre back Rui Silva (POR) and right wing Antonio Areia (POR) after the Netherlands beat Portugal 32:31 in their group B preliminary round 3 match in Budapest Handball Arena at the EHF EURO 2022 on Tuesday.

Erlingur Richardsson (ISL) — coach

On the match:

“I think we did play very well under the circumstances. We knew that if we would win or lose with one or two goals we could qualify for the first time in history. Of course, that could make a little bit of stress. But the players showed today that they are growing under those circumstances and did handle the game very well.

“Of course we had some corona trouble last night and that also can affect the focus on the game and that’s where I have to say a big compliment to the players, to be that focused on the game. All the credit goes to the players.”

On the main round:

“For the next round, I haven’t even thought about it. I think we just need to enjoy the last hour of the day and then we see how we keep on going.”

On goalkeeper Bart Ravensbergen’s performance:

“One thing I have to add, is that Bart Ravensbergen, our goalkeeper, in the first half was amazing. He kept the dream.”

Bobby Schagen (NED) — right wing

On the match:

“I’m really happy. It’s a huge step for Dutch handball I think. I think we played an okay game. We missed so many open chances and we kept Portugal in the game, but I think we deserved the win.

 “It was really hard and it cost a lot of energy before the game, the corona trouble, but I think we handled it good, but let’s see what the main round brings for us.”

Luc Steins (NED) – centre back

On the preliminary round:

“Every game was difficult for us. We have good players, but we do not have real big stars, so we have to work hard in every game. Today we did it again.

“I think in the beginning we made too many mistakes, and we wanted a little bit too much. We lost too many balls but after that we continued to run thus, we could score easy goals. At the end Portugal came back to the match but we kept our head cool, and we could win the match.”

On his emotions:

“It is an amazing feeling. It is a huge step for Dutch men’s handball that we qualify to the main round, because it is only the second time that we could qualify for an EHF EURO. We came with a goal here that everyone could see from the first match until the last one. It is a really big step for us.”

Paulo Pereira (POR) — coach

On the match:

“We are a little bit disappointed because really, at the end, this is a contradiction. This is my opinion, as a professor of physical education, you can look at this like an excuse, but I can’t prepare a team when we don’t train, when we don’t practise, when we don’t think on our rivals and come here to win. This is for me a contradiction; is really strange.

“In the end, we had the opportunity and [made] many, many mistakes — especially, it’s the first time in my life that we are in the locker room and looking at another game. We have been very happy because of Iceland. I think we lost all energy when we saw Iceland, so we thought maybe it was done. It is maybe also our behaviour — Portuguese behaviour is like this. Sometimes things go well. Sometimes not. This is another case that things don’t go well because we don’t anticipate one single thing.”

On their opponents:

“Holland, maybe this tournament may be the team sensation, like we were in 2020, because they really play high-level handball. They prepared themselves to come here and to play really, really very high-level handball.

“We are sad, but we accept, naturally, the defeat. And congratulations to Holland.”

Rui Silva (POR) — centre back

On the match:

“I think we are all disappointed because we need to make more than we made here. I know Iceland played very good, Hungary play at home and they deserve to win, and today, the Netherlands deserved to win.”

On the future of Portuguese handball:

“We already have a status that we have to make more at these kinds of competitions, in my opinion. Now it’s very important for us to fix what we made wrong in these three games and it’s very important for us to make this and nothing more. Only congratulations to them and I’m very sad to go home tomorrow.”

Antonio Areia (POR) – right wing

On the result:

“We lost two matches by one goal, but it is hard to say what was the main problem. The team needs to learn from these matches, today we had the opportunity to take lead at the end, but it did not happened.”

On the future:

“We have to discuss what happened in this tournament. I do not want to talk much about how tired was the team, every national team and clubs are in the same situation, we are in the middle of the season and we are in EHF EURO, so nobody can use this for excuse. The Dutch team plays really fast and well, they can surprise the big teams in the main round.”

GROUP D

Poland vs Germany 23:30

Bratislava, 18 January – Quotes from Germany coach Alfred Gislason (ISL) and centre back Philipp Weber (GER), and Poland coach Patryk Rombel (POL) and left back Melwin Beckmann (POL) after Germany beat Poland 30:23 in their group D preliminary round match in Ondrej Nepela Aréna in Bratislava on Tuesday.

Alfred Gislason (ISL) – coach, Germany

On their win against Poland:

“Of course I am extremely happy to have played a good game and take two points into the main round. We knew that we needed a great game to win, but we also knew that Poland had a few troubles in the centre of the defence. These points are very important for our future.”

On their challenges in the main round:

“We are taking two points in the next phase of the competition, but we will have some very difficult opponents. I think we will start against Spain, the reigning champions, who have roughly the same core, despite bringing in new talent. Russia, Sweden and Norway are also difficult opponents, so we will have our work cut out.”

Philipp Weber (GER) – centre back

On their win against Poland:

“I am really proud of my team, it was a special moment for us, we had a big shock yesterday. It is really unbelievable feeling to win here and take two points into the main round.”

Patryk Rombel (POL) – coach

On their loss against Germany:

“Germany were simply the best team in this game. We had four players missing in the centre of the defence and we lost another player due to a knee injury in the first half. I think this was the biggest difference between how we played two days ago and how we played today.

“Germany have great quality, even if they lose some players, they can replace them with very good players. We hope that we will have a stronger squad in the next matches.”

Melwin Beckmann (POL) – left back

On their loss against Germany:

“I am very happy to make my debut in the EHF EURO in this game, but we had our issues and we lost the game. We will look forward to the next matches.”

Belarus vs Austria 29:26

Bratislava, 18 January – Quotes from Belarus coach Youri Chevtsov (BLR) and Viachaslau Bokhan (BLR) and Austria coach Ales Pajovic (SLO) and left back Nikola Bilyk (AUT) Belarus beat Austria 29:26 in their group D preliminary round match in the Ondrej Nepela Aréna in Bratislava on Tuesday.

Iouri Chevtsov (BLR) - coach

On the win against Austria:

“We are happy that we finished the tournament with a win. Today, we channelled all of our strength to play good, but it was difficult without three key players. Yet our young players did very good and managed to help us win this game. My players did all the tasks I directed them to do and we are going home with a win.”

Viachaslau Bokhan (BLR) - line player

On the win against Austria:

“The game was very hard for us, we did not have several players at our disposal, but we showed our character and the chemistry in the team helped us win.”

Ales Pajovic (SLO) – coach, Austria

On the loss against Belarus:

“We really wanted to win this game. We started very good, we had a chance to lead by four or five goals, but we missed them and Belarus tied before the break. We had problems in defence, you cannot win without a good defence. Now we must look for the future, we cannot dwell on defeats and we have to be better.”

Nikola Bilyk (AUT) - left back

On the loss against Belarus:

“It was a really tough game, we really wanted to win this one, we did too many mistakes, especially in the second half, when we scored 10 goals. In defence, they took advantage of the space we left them and this is why they lost.”