Couceiro proud of Portugal

Coach José Couceiro concluded that his Portugal side were "the better team" after completing a miraculous UEFA European Under-21 Championship turnaround against Russia last night.

Remarkable comeback
Portugal's chances of reaching next summer's finals in the Netherlands looked slim after they lost the first leg of the play-off 4-1 in Moscow, but strikes from João Moutinho and Yannick Djaló and an own goal from Ivan Taranov saw Couceiro's side win 3-0 and progress on away goals. "I was worried that Russia would get a goal after we got our third one but that was never really close to happening," said the coach. "I think we were the better team if you analyse both games of the play-off. Russia have a more experienced team but we deserved to qualify."

Past achievements
Reaching the finals will spark hope that the current Portuguese crop will match the star-studded squad that won the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship. "I have to congratulate my players," said Couceiro. "This team has what it takes to succeed in the future. Now we will try to finish in the top four in the finals in the Netherlands." Goalscorer João Moutinho was also ecstatic with the outcome of the play-off. "We never stopped believing that we could qualify," he said. "The team did an outstanding job and now we can celebrate." Defender Miguel Veloso said that his side had been through "hard days following our defeat in the first game", but concluded: "tonight we could have scored even more goals".