Hunger key for victorious Group A coaches

HUNGARY 1-3 AUSTRIA
Géza Mészöly, Hungary coach 
We didn't start badly and there was a good chance for Zoltán Farkas; if we could have finished that with a shot on goal on it would have settled us down and encouraged the fantastic crowd to urge us on even more. After ten minutes I thought we were OK but the individual mistakes we made in quick succession were capitalised upon by this strong Austrian team to give them a 2-0 lead. When we came out for the second half the same thing happened, a mistake which led to a free-kick from which they scored. We were then three behind but I am happy we could score a goal – we can thank our mistakes for this defeat. Our team is capable of much more and I hope we can show that.

Andreas Heraf, Austria coach
Of course it's a good start. Our team executed our plan from the first minute to the last and everything was as we planned. It's good luck when you score very early because it makes it easier. The team was a little bit nervous at the beginning and in the warm-up; maybe the crowd was a bit new for them but after ten minutes we played the game we had planned and in the end everything was fine for us. Being hungry for the ball is one of our philosophies because a lot of teams we've played in the last four years have much better players than us. These errors of the Hungarian team were provoked and that's our game; we try it every match. They made some mistakes and especially the second goal was as a result of this pressing.

PORTUGAL 3-0 ISRAEL
Portugal coach Hélio Sousa
I'm very pleased. This is our identity – to pressure the opponents, to create chances and score goals. We created a lot in the first half and it would have been better to be 2-0 up at half-time, but the important thing is we got one goal at least and that was very good for our confidence for the second half. They made it hard for us in the beginning [of the second half] because Israel have a good team too, but we grew again and were more dominant and the result is good; it demonstrates what we are capable of doing. We demonstrated that we are a team.

Israel coach Eli Ohana (left) greets Portugal's Hélio Sousa©Sportsfile

Israel coach Eli Ohana
In the first 20 minutes of the second half, we showed we can play football. Otherwise, we must attack and defend better, but Portugal are a better team with much more quality players. They have some excellent individuals, but it's no surprise. We saw them in the elite round and they were excellent; they create chances so easily. But in the first half, our problem was not defending, but attacking because we couldn't hold the ball. We lost it too quickly, allowing them chances to launch counterattacks, and they are so fast, so quick. They didn't create many chances in the second half, but still scored two goals. They are a better team and deserved to win. It's our first time in this event whereas Portugal are here almost every year. They have experience and talent, but we're happy and proud to be here and hopefully we get better results.