Zivkovic relishes easy life

Serbia and Montenegro made it three wins from three to reach the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-finals in style with a 3-0 win against Greece in the third and final fixtures in Group A. Germany claimed second place in the section with a 2-1 success against tournament hosts Northern Ireland, to set up a Tuesday semi-final with France, while England are the Serbo-Montenegrins' opponents in the last four. uefa.com rounds up the reaction.

GREECE 0-3 SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Zvonko Zivkovic, Serbia and Montenegro coach
We took the lead very quickly, and that made life a lot easier for us than I had expected. I expected much more fight from the Greek side, and it seemed to me that they had no inspiration for this game. We took the game very seriously, and produced a very disciplined and hard-working performance, and that was the foundation for our success. Greece gave us far too much space in which to play, so after that it was very easy for us, and we took full advantage.

Nikolaos Nioplias, Greece coach
We were not ready for the heavy demands this tournament places on players. Before the Elite round, we spent five months preparing; here we spent one week in preparations, so we were nowhere near ready for these finals. If we had begun better against the Serbo-Montenegrins and scored the first goal, we might have done better, but in the event it went against us and we could not handle the game. Qualifying for this tournament made the players really proud, but I don't feel they've done themselves justice in such a big tournament. I think the two best teams qualified from the section and I hope one of them wins the tournament. Both Serbia and Montenegro and Germany are very good teams, and deserved to go through.

GERMANY 2-1 NORTHERN IRELAND
Ulrich Stielike, Germany coach
I am a little downhearted as I don't think we played as well here as we did against Greece on Wednesday. Northern Ireland did what we expected. They played with a lot of heart and made sure we had great difficulty getting into the game. I would say they definitely deserved a draw. We are not used to playing Northern Ireland's style but it is something we have to learn to handle to win competitions such as this.

Mal Donaghy, Northern Ireland manager
I am absolutely elated at our performance. One or two of the boys are crying the dressing room but I can honestly say that was the single best performance in my time in charge. To totally outplay one of the best sides in the world was amazing. If the players can take that form into the Under-21 side and beyond Northern Ireland football will be in good shape for the future. I was so proud for the boys that they got a goal. They have been a joy to coach over the past three games.