Thrilling start cheers U19 coaches

Spain coach Ginés Meléndez and his Turkish counterpart Cem Pamiroğlu were united in the belief that their meeting in Grodzisk Wielkopolska in the first round of fixtures in UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group B was a treat for the 1,800 spectators who witnessed eight goals and a 5-3 triumph for the Spanish. Meanwhile, Scotland team manager Archie Gemmill and Portugal coach Carlos Dinis both had to settle for a point as the Iberian side came from two goals down to snatch a draw in Szamotuly. uefa.com rounds up the reaction.

SPAIN 5-3 TURKEY
Ginés Meléndez, Spain coach
It was a great game for the spectators, very entertaining. Both sides tried to attack; Turkey battled very strongly and did well to fight back when we went 4-1 up. We lost concentration when we went three goals in front and that allowed them to get back into it. Turkey are very strong in every position, I know lots of them are already playing for their clubs and they are all very good players. They did not surprise me as I knew them from the U17s two years ago. Mata is a great goalscorer, he is a year younger than the rest of the players and he has great quality already.

Cem Pamiroğlu, Turkey coach
I don't think we played badly, we knew that Spain have won European Championships on a number of occasions and we expected them to be strong again. We also have a very good side and it was a good game to watch, the spectators will have enjoyed it and that is very important to us. I didn't expect to concede five goals but Spain have some experienced players. If we had scored the first goal, it might have been different but we didn't. Nobody wants to lose the first match but that's football; we had some good chances but didn't take them and that was the difference between the sides.

SCOTLAND 2-2 PORTUGAL
Archie Gemmill, Scotland team manager
We had a good first half, but there was no doubt Portugal would get back into the game and so they did. Portugal were by far the better team in the second half. It's not the end of the world to get a draw, we know examples from history where being 2-0 up you can end up losing 5-2. Steven Fletcher was excellent but as the whole team got tired we could not use him. Charlie Grant would be my man of the match – I think he was head and shoulders above anybody else on the pitch.

Carlos Dinis, Portugal coach
We did not play badly in the first half, but twice the players lost their concentration and Scotland punished us on each occasion. Otherwise it was a reasonably good first period, we were creative, but finishing let us down. The second half was pretty good for us, the players did exactly what we told them to do in the dressing room. I liked the performance and I am happy with the result, as the first game is always difficult and the players were a little nervous.