Santisteban rueful after Spain held

Spain coach Juan Santisteban was left bemoaning his side's failure to make the most of their opportunities after the UEFA European Under-19 Championship holders were held to a 1-1 draw by Portugal, whose fighting spirit pleased Edgar Borges. Spain still sit level on points at the top of Group A with Greece after Nikolaos Nioplias' team drew by the same scoreline with hosts Austria, a result that left both coaches feeling they could have got all three points.

SPAIN 1-1 PORTUGAL
Juan Santisteban, Spain coach
We were the stronger team and had more opportunities than Portugal in the first half, but it was a very equal and competitive game overall. Sometimes we just failed to finish off our chances. I always thought the group would be very even and very tight, even before the tournament. We knew Greece would be very strong and aggressive but in general all four teams are on an similar level.

Edgar Borges, Portugal coach
It was an excellent match between two teams that had a different approach. Spain showed a very composed style on the ball but also played with great competitive spirit and then we trying to win by closing down the space so they couldn't play through our midfield. After Spain scored we had to risk everything because defeat would probably have meant the end of our tournament. We tried to take advantage of some tiredness in the Spanish side and we managed to take control of the match and change it around from the first half. It was a fair result and I'd like to congratulate my players on their fighting spirit and the heart they showed to come back into the match. We still have a chance of qualifying.

AUSTRIA 1-1 GREECE
Hermann Stadler, Austria coach
Both sides fought hard. I was really happy with our spirit but for the first 25 minutes we were terrible, too slow and launched too many high balls. We didn't want to play like this because we knew the Greece defence are very strong in the air. We had a good chance to score at the end of the first half and we would have deserved an equaliser then but as it was we went in a goal down. Our two changes at half-time improved us a lot and we prevented Greece from creating any good chances in the second half. We didn't have many either but with a bit more luck we could have got another goal and perhaps won the game. The atmosphere in the stadium was sensational. I've been here for other games but it was never as good as it was today.

Nikolaos Nioplias, Greece coach
Austria were the better team in a physical sense but we started very well and could have killed off the match if we would have gone 2-0 ahead. We played very well for 45 minutes, and had two great chances at the end of the first half, but the game changed in the second half. Austria knew they would be out if they lost and their coach did a good job. They altered their approach and pressed forward to create more chances but although they had lots of the ball, they didn't create many openings. I'm very happy with the result, it's a good result for us and qualification for the semi-finals is in our own hands. That's all you can ask.