U17 EURO | HEAD COACH ALEKSANDAR LUKOVIĆ AFTER THE MATCH AGAINST SPAIN AND SERBIA'S QUALIFICATION FOR THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE U17 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP, STATEMENTS OF ANDRIJA MAKSIMOVIĆ AND STEFAN MITROVIĆ

The Head Coach Aleksandar Luković was satisfied with the new good performance of our national team, and in an interview for the website of the FA of Serbia, he expressed his view of the match against Spain.

“I’m still impressed, it’s not easy to come back after a bad start on the tournament.” Everyone was somehow thinking about the defeat against Slovenia, and we were concerned about ourselves and preparing for the last two matches. We played properly against the best teams in the group, and we deserved to qualify among the eight best teams on the continent. In terms of defense, against Spain, we were very correct, and we must do much better as regards to attacking lines, especially against teams that base their game on ball possession. I would not like to fall into some euphoria, we tend to go from greatness to despair. We have to stay firmly on the ground, first of all rest well and prepare as best as possible for the match against Poland. I would like to thank all our people who came to Budapest to support us, I hope that they will be in even greater numbers in the quarter-final match scheduled for Saturday.”

Andrija Maksimović, the scorer of the only goal for our national team against Spain, was very satisfied after the match in Budapest:

“The impressions are phenomenal, qualified among the eight best teams in Europe. It was very important to overcome and forget the defeat against Slovenia as soon as possible. We entered the duel against Spain motivated, played patiently and controlled the match for the entire 90 minutes. The team spirit of this team from the first day of gathering was once again felt. The fact that I scored against Italy and Spain in this tournament is not so important to me, as I am happy with the performance of the whole team. We deserved this success, from the players to the Head Coach and members of the Technical Staff.”

One of the most notable players in the match against Spain, Stefan Mitrović, says that the team once again showed character, as in the qualifiers, as well, when, after the initial defeat against Belarus, they managed to come back and qualify for the final tournament.

“I played under the pressure of the yellow card, but I did my best and helped the team to 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 we deserved to advance. The next opponent is Poland, we’re Serbia, we’re not afraid of anyone and we’ll do our best to qualify for the semi-finals.”