The Serbian national team achieved a great result at the European Championship in Hungary, but the victory in the next match can be extremely important.
The Serbian national team made a real feat at the European Championship for players under the age of 17. After a shocking and convincing defeat by Slovenia in the first round, the team of coach Aleksandar Luković defeated Italy (2:09), and then won a point against Spain (1:1), enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
The selector who leads the talented Serbian footballers is very satisfied with this development of the situation. In his first statement after being placed among the eight best European selections, Luković looked back at the previous matches, the match against Spain, but also what awaits the national team – a clash with Poland that can bring Serbia a place at the World Championship, which for this age group is played in November and December!
“I’m still impressed, the game just ended. Congratulations guys, first of all. It was not easy to come back after that first game where we were not great. I always go back to her because we expected to start properly. I think we played well the next two. Defensively we were quite good, offensively we have to control the game better, especially against teams that play like Spain and base the game on possession. Congratulations to the boys for making it to the top eight, now we need to rest and regenerate, then prepare for the match against Poland. I would like to thank all our people who came to cheer us on today and in the previous two games. I invite them to be there for the quarter-final match against Poland,” said Aleksandar Luković and added: “I would not like him to fall into euphoria. We are prone to it, we love from brilliance to despair, either everything is brilliant or nothing works. We have to stay firmly on the ground and believe in what we are doing.” Listen to the selector’s statement:
Andrija Maksimović, the scorer of the only goal for our national team against Spain, beamed with satisfaction after the match in Budapest: “The impressions are phenomenal, we placed among the eight best selections in Europe. It was very important to overcome and forget the defeat against Slovenia as soon as possible. We entered the duel with Spain motivated, played patiently and controlled the game for the entire 90 minutes. Once again, the team spirit that adorns this team from the first day of gathering was felt. The fact that I shook the nets of Italy and Spain in this tournament is not so important to me, as I am happy with the performance of the whole team. We are all to blame for this feat, from the players to the selectors and members of the coaching staff.”
One of the most notable players in the match with Spain, Stefan Mitrović, says that the team once again showed character, as in the qualifiers when, after the initial defeat against Belarus, they managed to come back and win a place in the final tournament: “I played under the pressure of a yellow card, but I did my best and helped the team achieve the desired result. It is a phenomenal feeling when you remain undefeated in duels against two of the best national teams in such an important competition. We played as a team and deservedly advanced. It’s Poland’s turn, we’re Serbia, we’re not afraid of anyone and we’re going to qualify for the semi-finals.”
(WORLD)