Courtesy: UEFA.com


Russia and Portugal reflect on draw

Eder Lima hit a superb equaliser to earn Russia a 4-4 draw and top spot in Group B, but he was frustrated to concede four goals; Portugal coach Jorge Braz was more positive.


Saturday 1 February 2014

by Mikhail Malkin & Nuno Tavares from Lotto Arena

Eder Lima, Russia forward
We knew that Portugal were a great team that played good futsal. We struggled to find our game in the first half. The only chances that came were after defensive mistakes. But now we can already think about the quarter-finals. It turned out to be a good match. Now we will assess how we played defensively, because there's no room for mistakes against a team as strong as Portugal. Four goals conceded is too many.

While the first game [beating the Netherlands 7-1] was difficult, the second one was no easier at all. We had to win this one, but a draw is OK too; there is nothing we can do about it. I was very pleased to have scored such a goal (his acrobatic second to make it 4-4), though it would have been even better if it was a winner. Cirilo was ill. He will be fit for the quarter-final [against Romania on Monday], but let him rest for now.

Sergei Sergeev, Russia defender
Well, since I was the one who lost the ball [for the first Portugal goal], it makes me the one to blame and I accept it. I lingered a bit, and it turned out that they kicked the ball away from me and we conceded a goal. But only someone who does nothing makes no mistakes. And we all work for each other and try to make up for the mistakes that other players make.

Sergei Skorovich, Russia coach
You should not congratulate us because that is usually done when a team wins. Today we have a draw where we probably made too many mistakes and defended very poorly. Of course, we scored some beautiful goals and had more chances to convert, but generally we had too many flaws tonight.

Both Portugal and ourselves realised that it was a match for the first place in our group. I do not assess our displays in percentages. We wanted to play at 100%, but it's all about whether the other team allows you to do that or not, whether you manage to do everything you planned or not. So many factors affect the game. We tried hard; we wanted to win convincingly, but it was destined to be a draw.

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach
We wanted to win the group and we did everything in our power to achieve that, but despite the fact we were not successful I think we had some pretty amazing moments, moments of excellence. We made some strategic mistakes, but I'm to blame for that.

The key thing about this match was the fantastic spirit of this team and the solidarity between all players. It seems to me that we had more opportunities to score but we missed here and there. In all, I'm satisfied with my team's display. From now on, we are in a new round [facing Ukraine in the last eight on Monday] and that's what we are focused on.

Against a team like Russia, it's normal that they also have their own opportunities and that the game is very tight. There is a huge ambition in every single player on my team.

Cristiano, Portugal goalkeeper
I'm very happy because this was my first match at a Futsal EURO finals. I think it went well. Of course we wanted to win but we played against a great team and I think the result ends up being fair if we take into account what each team did on the pitch.

I think we are at the same level when compared with the best teams and tonight we showed we have what it takes in order to beat any opponent. Our coach has confidence in every single player on the team and the best proof of that is the fact that all three goalkeepers have already played a part in the competition.

Arnaldo Pereira, Portugal captain
I believe it was a great display from both teams. It was an excellent match to watch for the fans at the Arena and for those watching it on TV. Our team deserves all the praise because our main objective was to qualify for the next stage and we did just that. We wanted to leave here with a win, if nothing else because we always want to win, but then again we have to accept the outcome of the game because we made some mistakes.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Tsypun champions Ukraine 'team effort'

"I don't think I'm a hero − it's my job to save shots," keeper Kryrylo Tsypun told UEFA.com after helping Ukraine through at the expense of a "proud" Belgium team who rued missed chances.

Sunday 2 February 2014

by Mikhail Malkin & Wayne Harrison from Lotto Arena

Kryrylo Tsypun, Ukraine goalkeeper
I don't think I'm a hero − it's my job to save shots. I wasn't the only one who made it possible that we didn't concede: all of the team did this, everybody contributed. We did some things well, some not. Everyone tried to block shots, low shots and high shots, and block them with their heads. It was a team effort, not just mine.

It was a good match, but I wouldn't say it was the best one of my career. But we achieved our goal and got to the quarter-finals as the group winners. I have already played in matches with so many fans in the stands, such as in the last EURO and in the [FIFA Futsal] World Cup.

There was some moments when I thought we played too deep in defence. Sometimes our opponents forced us to do this, sometimes we did so to create more space for counterattacks.

Yevgen Ryvkin, Ukraine coach
I don't feel anything right now because I wasted all of my emotions during the match. It was a nervous match and I now have a lot of things to think about. We didn't play badly in defence, but we didn't play good at all in attack. We created some good chances on the counterattack, not by playing a positional game. But still, we didn't convert them.

Kyrylo Tsypun is a tall and physically strong goalkeeper. We knew that Belgium [like to] play with lots of high balls and this is the reason why we chose him. We have three equally good goalkeepers and this is one of our greatest strengths now.

Ahmed Sabati, Belgium defender
Today we knew we had to put right what we didn't do on Tuesday [when Belgium lost 6-1 to Romania]. We knew we had to avoid the mistakes we made then – we did that today. You could see how many chances we had to score and we had an opportunity to win by a three-goal margin. We can be proud of the team.

Ukraine are very strong and defensively well-organised, but today we had a lot of opportunities to defeat such a big team. They are pros while we are just amateurs – we don't have the money or budget that they have – but we've shown to Europe that there is a lot of talent in Belgium and if futsal here wants to develop we need the support of our association and the money to grow.

I played in 2010 in Hungary and that was a beautiful experience. Now to play here for your team – I am from this city, I was born in this city – is magnificent. We had the supporters behind us and they pushed us forward. We gave them a very good game which they enjoyed.

Alain Dopchie, Belgium coach
For sure, I'm proud of my team, I'm proud of the work that we have done and the spirit of the game. We showed here in Belgium that futsal exists. We were at home and in the first game we showed almost nothing. It was important for me to show to the crowd that we could attack, that we could score. But for me, the reason I'm not happy is that we couldn't score.

I had an ambition: to show that futsal in Belgium exists. I think I did my job – the media know that futsal exists in Belgium now – but I'm disappointed about the result. I'm never happy with a draw, you have to win. We got near the goal, but we didn't take shots.

The aim was to qualify and we will try to do better next time. Today we had a good game, we drew, but it was not enough to qualify. I hope next time to win.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com