Hughes defiant, Trapattoni buoyant

'Still in our hands'
Hughes said: "It is still in our own hands, we have come very, very close and can still finish top of the group. That is my aim and I believe we can still do it despite this setback. Sometimes you don't get the result the performance deserves, and that was the case tonight."

Petkovic delight
The victory revives third-placed Serbia and Montenegro's prospects, leaving them four points behind Wales albeit having played one game more. Their new coach, Ilija Petkovic, said: "This is not a miracle, we won because we were the better team. I believe that, but we must also win our next two games to show than we have a good standard."

'Beautiful game' for Trapattoni
The result in Belgrade means Italy can overtake Wales with victory when the sides meet in Milan in September. Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni described his side's 1-0 win in Germany last night as "a beautiful game". Christian Vieri's first-half goal was decisive despite the hosts dominating the second period. "We now have the German spirit. We have become almost as tough as them," said Trapattoni.

Völler realistic
Germany coach Rudi Völler said: "We must not let all the euphoria about our second-half performance mask the fact that Italy are a fantastic team. You can never fully shut down players like Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti or Vieri."

Game of two halves
Belgium national team coach Aimé Anthuenis reflected on a game of two halves after his side's 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Brussels. 'We played an excellent first half in which we used the space we got in a very good way," he said. "In the first half we maybe should have led 2-0 instead of 1-0. In the second half we did far less. The conclusion is simple: the good first half has to become a good 90 minutes."

Advocaat experiment
Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat experimented in the first period with Rafael van der Vaart alongside Ruud van Nistelrooij up front and Patrick Kluivert in the hole behind. "I now have seen the experiment with Kluivert in the position behind the strikers. For a club coach he can work on it all week, but as a national team coach I have to try things out in a match like this."

'Disappointing' Dutch
It took four half-time changes, including the arrival of goalscorer Roy Makaay to earn the Dutch a draw. "I had to intervene at half-time, to tell my players again what our tactical intentions were and in what positions they should play. That was disappointing."

'Good test' for Portugal
EURO 2004™ hosts Portugal were less than impressive in a 1-0 home win against Kazakhstan. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said: "We expected fewer difficulties, but we can't forget that we are in August and most players are beginning their seasons at the clubs. I can't hide that I was counting on a different result, but it was a good test to get some ideas for the next game against Spain."

Eriksson praises James
After England's 3-1 victory over Croatia, coach Sven-Göran Eriksson praised goalkeeper David James for some excellent saves in a first half controlled by the visitors. "David James did very well for us - he was excellent," said Eriksson. "They had some great chances in the first half and David saved us with two or three very, very good saves."