Italy pleased with balanced group

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Claudio Gentile, Italy coach:
"It's always difficult to say which teams are more difficult to face but I have to admit that we had a good draw. We'll face eastern European teams. They are solid sides and it's always difficult to play against them but in the other group are hosts Germany, Switzerland and Portugal, who eliminated strong teams like champions Czech Republic and France. I believe that both groups are very balanced. We have already faced Serbia and Montenegro in the qualifying round and they created problems for us."

Yuri Puntus, Belarus coach:
"I am happy with the draw. First, it is good that we avoided hosts Germany in the first round. I think the two groups are even in terms of strength. I regard Italy as the favourite in our section, but the other three teams can still have a shot at the semi-finals. Our target is a place in the top two – I think we are capable of achieving this."

Vladimir Petrovic, Serbia and Montenegro coach:
"I am very satisfied with the draw. The teams in Group A play technically superb football so we are in a group of similar styles. We lost 4-1 away against Italy in the qualifiers, but we won 1-0 at home. They are favourites, but we have shown that we are not to be underestimated. Against Croatia and Belarus we can think about winning. I am hoping to reach the semi-finals and gain a ticket to the Olympic Games. Anything above this would be a tremendous success."

Martin Novoselac, Croatia coach:
"Italy are the strongest team here, this generation were European champions before, so they will want to do the same in Germany. Serbia and Montenegro are a very good team, but we don't know much about Belarus. Certainly we are going to pick up information about all our opponents but the question is are we going to have all our players available - some of them are candidates for Otto Baric's [senior] team, some of them are injured. If we are going there with a full squad we are not afraid of nobody."