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Klinkenberg wants spark, Kostič hails Slovenia

Patrick Klinkenberg bemoaned Belgium's "lack of spontaneity" in their stalemate with the Netherlands, while Miloš Kostič rued a loss of focus in Slovenia's 1-1 draw against Poland.

Belgium and the Netherlands cancelled each other out in Maribor on Monday
Belgium and the Netherlands cancelled each other out in Maribor on Monday ©NZS

The Netherlands' Albert Stuivenberg was once again not fully satisfied with his team after their goalless draw against Belgium, whose coach Patrick Klinkenberg feels his side "lack spontaneity" after failing to score for the second successive match. Poland and hosts Slovenia, meanwhile, drew 1-1 in Lendava to leave all four nations still in the hunt to qualify from Group B of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

NETHERLANDS 0-0 BELGIUM
Albert Stuivenberg, Netherlands coach
I'm a bit disappointed. There were a lot of chances for both sides but we wanted to play better. We know Belgium's qualities and they did a very good job. We were very poor in defence and we gave too much space to the opponents. When we won the ball there were chances for us on the counterattack but we did a poor job in the final part of the attack. There were a lot of wrong choices and we also gave a lot of good chances away. We must say Belgium also played a very good game but we can do a lot better than we did today.

Patrick Klinkenberg, Belgium coach
I am happy and proud of my team after a very good performance. The organisation we put into place was well applied by the players. We played well but we didn't try enough to score, so we know what we have to work on in training. I think we lack a bit of spontaneity so we will work on that. The Netherlands are a very good team and we shouldn't forget that – it was a very big challenge for my players.

SLOVENIA 1-1 POLAND
Miloš Kostič, Slovenia coach
It's hard to gather my thoughts so soon after the match but I congratulate my players for their energy and aggression during the game. They did not leave the Poles much space to attack, but we did not have enough chances ourselves in front of goal. Poland have a very, very strong team so we did not want to start too deep because we had analysed their game and knew they could be effective with the long ball. Unfortunately we were not focused enough at a few moments, but this is how players gain experience.

Marcin Dorna, Poland coach
It was a really tough game. We had only two days break since the first one and we were not so good. This is always a problem but I think our players gave everything and I am proud of them. I hope they can do it all again on Thursday. I think the score was fair as the two teams were on the same level. Still, everything is in our own hands so we look forward to that now. We need to analyse this game, get experience from it and prepare for the Netherlands.

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