Tadić targets semi-final place

Having scored two and made another as Serbia got their UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign back on course with a 6-2 win against Russia in the second round of matches in Group B, Dušan Tadić is confident his side can go on to book a place in the semi-finals.

Remarkable turnaround
Zvonko Zivković's side threw away a two-goal lead to lose their opening fixture to France 5-2, but bounced back in some style at the Waldstadion in Pasching as Tadić and substitute Nenad Marinković both scored twice to crown a dominant display. "I'm satisfied with my own performance and with how the team played; we didn't repeat the mistakes of the first game," Tadić
Told uefa.com. "We showed our mental strength and physically we were excellent for the whole 90 minutes. It was hard to come back from the first game but we showed our toughness to get back into the competition and keep alive our chances of qualifying."

Repeat avoided
Having taken an early 2-0 lead once again through Rodoljub Marjanović and Miloš Bosančić, Serbian nerves were set jangling when Vladimir Dyadyun pulled a goal back three minutes before half-time, only for Tadić to restore the two-goal cushion two minutes into the second period. "I must admit we were all a little bit afraid when Russia pulled a goal back," the FK Vojvodina midfielder said. "None of us wanted to make the same mistakes again but we showed how strong we are and managed to maintain our performance levels for 90 minutes. My first goal meant a lot, to score so early in the second half made us peaceful again and we were suddenly less worried."

'Terrible hour'
Rarely can a side have experienced such contrasting fortunes in the space of three days, although Tadić has no trouble in identifying the reasons for the improvement. "Against France we started well but then totally lost our power after 35 minutes, when we were 2-0 up. Physically they were stronger than us, the heat was a problem and we had a terrible hour. After we'd scored our second goal we kept going forward looking for more instead of consolidating and keeping the ball. In the second game after another good start we kept the ball and did less running, and that's what made the difference."

'Depends on us'
The win against Russia sets up a decisive fixture against Germany in Pasching on Sunday, with Serbia needing another victory to reach the semi-finals, and Tadić recognises his side need to maintain their performance levels if they are to get through. "Germany will be a difficult game but we know we need to win to get to the semi-finals and we're confident we can do that. We're glad it depends on us. We have to play well again throughout the 90 minutes; if we produce another performance like we showed against Russia, we will get through."