Kamber crucial to Swiss win says Ryser

Switzerland moved two points clear at the top of UEFA European Under-17 Championship Group A after their 3-1 win against ten-man Italy and holders Spain's second straight goalless draw, this time against France. While Switzerland's Dany Ryser explained the key role played by goalscoring left-back Janick Kamber, Italy's Pasquale Salerno paid tribute for his side for their efforts after keeper Mattia Perin's red card. Spain coach Ginés Meléndez lamented his side's profligacy while France counterpart Philippe Bergeroo, second on goals scored, has set his sights on a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, a prize Switzerland have already secured, at the very least.

Italy1-3 Switzerland
Pasquale Salerno, Italy coach
We played pretty well until the red card. We were attacking well and we kept trying to attack afterwards so the sending off didn't change our approach too much. We had chances to score a second but couldn't manage it. Even though we were losing with fewer players I still saw the game the same way and indeed we struck back straight away. It was our mistakes that allowed the Swiss to win and it was a lot harder to strike back later in the game after we'd been down a man such a long time. But Switzerland continued to play well and had an organised and systematic approach so their win was well deserved.

Dany Ryser, Switzerland coach
The red card was very important in the context of the game. We went in front but Italy came back strongly afterwards. At half-time we told the players to move Italy around and to try and bring Janick Kamber into our attacking play more. In the second half we played very well and the result was a good one for us. However, we are not yet in the semi-finals yet, but we have qualified for the World Cup and now our concentration is on [Tuesday's] game with Spain.

Spain 0-0 France
Ginés Meléndez, Spain coach
We want to congratulate the organisation here in Grimma and congratulate Philippe for his great coaching and the resistance of his team. The first half was a balanced one but I think we dominated the second. We played very well but were unlucky not to score a goal. I think my strikers want to score badly; possibly too much. I'll have to talk to them because it is just a psychological problem. In the last two years we scored an average of three goals per game. It is luck. The players are still young but I am sure we will score in the next game and more than once.

Philippe Bergeroo, France coach
We grabbed a very good point. They have a very good team. I would like to congratulate Ginés because every year they have quality players. We had a very good first half then faded away in the second but we stuck to the system set for today. Today's game brings us an interesting opportunity knowing that third place in the group would give us a World Cup place and we still have a possibility of qualifying for the semi-finals too. We had to have a meeting to explain to my players that football demands courage and willingness to achieve your goals. Just because you've signed a professional contract, it doesn't mean you shouldn't owe the game respect.