Group B winners and losers share credit
Monday 21 July 2008
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The Group B standings were decided in Sunday's third and final round of matches as the Czech Republic dropped a place to second after losing 4-3 to Italy in Mlada Boleslav. That thrilling victory eclipsed England's 3-0 success over Greece in Liberec, taking the Azzurri top of the section, one point above both the Czechs and England. With the hosts having the superior head-to-head record, England had to make do with a FIFA U-20 World Cup ticket for 2009. uefa.com rounds up the coaches' reaction.
ITALY 4-3 CZECH REPUBLIC
Francesco Rocca, Italy coach
The way I saw it, it was a very tough first half and then a more disciplined and together performance by us in the second. Both sides contributed a lot and I have to say I am satisfied. The way you prepare is crucial for these games because all the teams are capable of playing top-class football. So it was our preparation that won us this match in the end. We did a good job. We came into this championship with two goals – to reach the semi-finals and to get to the World Cup. We have achieved both targets. I would like to congratulate the organisers of this tournament because it has been tremendous.
Jakub Dovalil, Czech Republic coach
All three games have been important in getting us to the semi-finals. Today I thought the Italians were the better team overall, but it was a good spectacle for the fans who had seven goals to watch. I am not pleased with the defeat, of course, but I am still satisfied that we have reached both the semi-finals and the World Cup in Egypt. I would like to thank the boys for that. We were keeping an eye on the match in Liberec and I have to say it was a relief to find out that England were winning and eventually won. We wanted to win ourselves, yet I think it was a difficult game for my players from a psychological point of view. We know we have to make some improvements at the back against Germany. We were happy to play Hungary or Germany – both are top-quality opponents.
ENGLAND 3-0 GREECE
Brian Eastick, England coach
Nobody who saw the game could deny that we were by far the better team. We were good value for 3-0 and we played some brilliant football at times. However, the result doesn't send us to Prague and there is a very disappointed dressing room. We felt we played very, very well against Italy – and that we were as good as the Italians – and we put in another good performance today. The difference was that today we converted our opportunities which we didn't do against Italy. That's football but it is no consolation to the dressing room. We did well to come back from two really disappointing, out-of-character unforced errors against the Czechs. In tournament play you have to keep clean sheets. The first result left us needing to beat Italy and win this game. I felt the first-half performance against Italy was excellent and deserved a goal. I am proud of the players for coming back from the opening setback and playing some really good football. People who have seen our last two matches will have been entertained.
Alexis Alexiou, Greece coach
I would like to say exactly what I said to my players in the dressing room – that I was happy with their display, both today and in the other two matches, and that they should be proud of having been in the last eight in Europe. They have done well throughout and I have congratulated them on this. Today was a difficult game because of the quality of opposition that England provided. They were very strong, especially in attack. The early substitution we were forced to make, with Nikolaos Boutzikos going off, combined with Sotiris Ninis's absence through suspension, affected the team. It unsettled us. We tried to keep England out in the first half and achieved that. But once they scored early in the second half, we had to take risks and that cost us.
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