Flash quotes: group C media calls, 15 January

MUNICH - Comments from Serbia left wing Nemanja Ilic (SRB) and right back Milos Orbovic (SRB), and Hungary head coach Chema Rodriguez (ESP) and centre back Máté Lékai (HUN), and Iceland centre back Gisli Kristjansson (ISL) and right back Ómar Ingi Magnusson (ISL) at media calls on Monday.

SERBIA

Nemanja Ilic (SRB) — left wing

On the feeling in the team after the defeat to Hungary on Sunday, and with the important match ahead:
“It’s tough to wake up after the defeat yesterday. We were expecting some other results from the beginning, from the match against Iceland. We wanted to win. It was a draw.

“Then we want to win against Hungary, and we lost by one. It’s so close and that is even worse for us, even more painful than if you lose by five or six balls, then it’s difficult this morning. But this is sport. This is the European championship. We play every two days. We need to rise up and to prepare for this last game.”

On what the team can learn from the close final minutes where they have not managed to come out on top:
“We shouldn’t get in that position, maybe, to decide in the last minute. Maybe it’s experience. It’s probably experience. We didn’t have a lot of matches this important and to decide in the last seconds. But we should kill the game before.”

On the final game in the group:
“The last game, it’s important. It’s much more important to us than them [Montenegro]. We need to be focused on our game, to be good in our heads to try to forget this game from yesterday to be ready for a new fight.”

On whether it can work in Serbia’s favour that Montenegro are not fighting for the main round place:
“No, for sure. We can release if we say they don’t have nothing to play for. But they will play without pressure for honour. Yes, for their honour. And it will be for sure another difficult game, another tough game in our group. For sure, it’s not going in our favour [in that way].”

On what he expects from Montenegro:
“They’re a mix of the two teams, Iceland and Hungary. They’re strong, but they have fast players who can play one-against-one. It’s always a tough game against them and it will be for sure difficult. We need to prepare ourselves first, then tactics and everything. But we need to be good in our heads and to go out to win the game.”

Milos Orbovic (SRB) – right back

On the feeling in the team the day after the round 2 loss to Hungary:
“It’s difficult to say. It’s always hard after a game like yesterday. But this is a tournament. We don’t have a lot of time to be sad or to be happy, so tomorrow is an important game and we will try to prepare as best as we can to win, and then to hope that Hungary will beat Iceland, for the second round.”

On relying on Hungary vs Iceland as well as their own result:
“We are long in this sport, so the most important thing is that we still trust in the process, in everything, and we are together, we’re really a team and we give our 100 per cent in every moment. I’m trying to think that everything will be OK. So that’s our job, to play until the end, to give our 100 per cent and that’s it.

“What is in our hands, we can do. What is not, unfortunately, we cannot change. So until the end we will give everything what we have and I really hope after the last championship, after these defeats by one goal, that something’s going to happen, that we will have luck this time and we will reach the second round.”

On whether processing the very close disappointing results is more difficult:
“It’s difficult because you are always there, but you miss something and it’s always one goal. It’s easier when it’s five goals than you can say, ‘OK, they are better,’ shake the hands and that’s it. But when it’s one goal always, it’s difficult.

“But we really show that we are here because there are a lot of examples of teams which are losing by one then the next, three, four, five games, they’re going completely down. We are holding that line and I’m really happy because of that.

“I hope that that we will have luck this time and that Hungary will beat Iceland. But first, we need to focus on Montenegro at 100 per cent because they showed that they are a perfect team with perfect individual players.”

On Montenegro:
“They are also together three or four years. It’s a mix of the young players which are very good and older players, which have a lot of experience, a lot of quality. A perfect goalkeeper with the top defence with the system, so it will be tough for sure.

“It will be a game for one or two goals again. It will not be easy or finished in 20, 30 minutes. We need to focus 60 minutes because I think that one ball will decide who will win the match and that’s it. We know that.

“It’s always, between Serbia and Montenegro, the games are like that. And there’s the truth. And that’s it. We just need to be focused, but I really believe in our team, and I think that we are a better team than Montenegro. And that’s it. We are going to take that win, and as I said 200 times, just hope that we will go in the second round.”

HUNGARY

Chema Rodriguez (ESP) – head coach, Hungary

On the game against Iceland:
“Another difficult match. I think they are the favourites in all the matches that they play. Always, they are thinking on the medals, and this will be such a difficult match for us.”

On having reached the main round after two rounds:
“We are so happy. If somebody had said to me that after two games we would be qualified for the next round, I would say, I’m sure, ‘no.’ We are so happy for this.

“We played such difficult, two difficult matches in the beginning. We had luck and we won them both and we can be there [in the main round], but now we want more. We know that if we want to pass with points to the main round, we need to beat Iceland and we go to try to do it.”

On whether there is less intensity for this game since they are already through:
“If we lose some points here, after in the main round it’s so difficult to make anything. For us, the first goal was to pass the group and stay in the main round. We almost do it this and now we want to pass, if it’s possible, with points to the round, to have a chance in the other group to make something.”

Máté Lékai (HUN) — centre back

On the feeling on Monday after another win on Sunday:
“We are happy. Of course, we are tired, a little bit, but it’s better to win than lose so it’s a good feeling. But now we concentrate only on Iceland, for the next match, because it’s very important for them and very important for us. We want to bring the two points for the next round. But, we know, of course, Iceland is a very good team.”

On his expectations of Iceland:
“We have a long history with them. The last, I don’t know how many years, we were in the same group in the European Championship or the World Championship. They have very, very, very good players. Individually, maybe the best in the world. They won, some players, the Champions League last summer. We know each other very good. Last year, we played also in the World Championship. They play very fast handball. They try to score a lot of fast break goals. We have to stop them for these because every fast break almost always comes to goals. But, of course, it will be very hard. They have the pressure because if they lose, they won’t go to the Olympic qualification. But I think everybody wants to go to the Olympics. We will see.”

On the different motivations and if it means Iceland will be more fired up than Hungary:
“I think both teams will be fired up. We want two points and if it’s not only a friendly match, also every sportsman wants to win the match. The motivation can’t be more than maximum and everybody has a maximum. But of course, everybody knows how important this match is. I think the motivation will be full. They will know the Serbia-Montenegro match — if Serbia win, they have to win. It will be an interesting match.”

ICELAND

Gisli Kristjansson (ISL) – centre back

On the game against Hungary:
“Just exciting, exciting to go play this all or nothing game. We want to take the two points with us in the next round. It will be also a physical game like the other matches that we played in this group.

“We knew before this group that we were going to face three extremely strong and physical teams. But we also need to remand ourselves that we are basically in the position that we wanted to be. We are in an all or nothing game where we can take two points with us in the main round, and that’s how we want it to be. We always want to play big.”

On facing Hungary’s defence:
“They are really big. They are physical. They are really compact. No doubt, they have really good defence and we will need to be at our absolute best to beat them.”

On the chance of knowing they are through to the main round before the game starts:
“I don’t really care about that. Of course, it’s nice to be in the next round, but if we don't win this match against Hungary, we don’t have that much – it’s basically the main round has begun for us because we need two points in the main round and that's how we wanted to be.”

Ómar Ingi Magnusson (ISL) – right back

On Hungary:
“They have a great team. Great players — big, strong players. The pivot position is going to be a huge factor. Defensively we have to have a good plan.”

On how dangerous Hungary’s line players are:
“They’re big and physical. It’s going to be tough to defend against them. But we also know them pretty well because we played the last two years against them and they know us as well. So, it’s going to be a bit of a chess match as well. I think we have to have a good plan.”

On the result of the Serbia versus Montenegro game potentially deciding their main round berth before the game against Hungary:
“We’re going to just go into the game thinking that we have to win and we will focus on that, just winning the game and that we’ll do it. So that will be our focus.”

On improvements to be made since the last game:
“We have to shoot better. I think our percentage is not that good, but we’re creating chances and I think we played better the second game than we did in the first game, especially offensively. But we have to finish better and be more effective and get the chances.”