Pellerud, Heiner-Møller catch their breaths

Even Pellerud, Norway coach
I guess most people are surprised by having Norway in the final as we were not mentioned among the favourites; I have to admit I did not count on that. We had top four as a goal, and that was even stretching reality. It has been a magnificent event, the hosts have been phenomenal. To play the final on Sunday in front of 50,000, it's going to be hard to top that experience. To me that is even bigger than the [FIFA Women's] World Cup final in '95 and the Olympic bronze final in '96.

Of course we could all see that this is not my team's best performance ever. We didn't put hard enough pressure on Denmark in midfield. We seemed to have some tired legs from the get-go and dropped down a lot. And overall we were not able to create many chances. They got a lot of crosses into the area and shot quite a lot. Our goalkeeper is of course very sharp, but as a general statement I would say we didn't play as well as I hoped to. We were a little bit more tired today than before.

I have seen Ingrid [Hjelmseth] as my starting goalie for the last six months; I didn't know her that well before because I have been away. I have been very impressed by her: her concentration levels, her fitness level, her ability to step in at the right time.

We have had a couple of training sessions where we finished off with a shoot-out. Based on those training sessions I have made my list, but I had to change it as two of my shooters were substituted or injured. That is not easy, of course, but both Maren Mjelde and Cathrine Dekkerhus, the two players coming in, are very calm personalities, so I had a good feeling about those two and it paid off.

I also have to give a lot of compliments to the Danish team. They passed the ball very well. They looked pumped up for the game and caught me by surprise. They played well.

The problem is not dropping back – the problem is if you do not apply pressure on the ball and give the Danish player time to pass the ball where they want to. It is not a problem to sit deep at times, but the pressure needs to be there.

You always wish history repeats itself but that is not the case in sport. It does not help my team or me on Sunday that I beat [Germany] 18 years ago. This is a completely new generation, the game has changed. Germany, as always, are very talented. Against Sweden we saw a tight game, a physical game; I was impressed by both teams.

Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Denmark coach
I have to congratulate Norway for their place in the final. Norway played as Norway do; they worked very hard, very narrow between the lines, so a lot of congratulations to Norway. Looking at ourselves, we are not that pleased; we wanted to win. But as I said before the match, we have to look at the performance. And, take away the first five minutes, we played as expected, maybe even better.

I am not surprised the players could work so hard for 120 minutes once again. I am very proud but not surprised. These players have such a big heart, a great spirit, greater than ever. That's why they keep on performing for 120 minutes, but it was not enough unfortunately. I would like to play one more game at this EURO. But today it wasn't to be.

Janni [Arnth] also played full-back against France; I think she did a good job. Coming through the tournament, Mia Brogaard was playing at left-back but we needed her in the centre as she is so skilful on the ball. Against Finland, we played Cecilie Sandvej because she is a great player, but we needed some more and Janni is a good defensive player. She's fast.

I really don't talk about any legacy, I'm very proud of the performance of my players at this EURO; it was great. I heard some people talk about luck. No way, no way. This was hard work.

I think some of the players were tired. Yesterday, as before the quarter-final, we practised penalties in the stadium, but some of the players we picked out had been substituted. Some of the players who were picked last time [against France] I'm sure Norway had seen them on video, or they should have.