Swiss and Portugal lead way

Won on penalties
Bernard Challandes' side repeated Portugal's heroics against France 24 hours earlier in overturning a first-leg home defeat and then winning on penalties. They did it with ten men, following Marco Streller's sending-off, coming from behind to win 2-1 and then 4-3 in the ensuing shoot-out

'Unbelievable script'
Challandes said: "It was an unbelievable script. We could hardly imagine we would turn the game playing with ten men. Our players had luck, of course, but they had to show great personality too." Czech coach Werner Licka said: "We did not concede a goal from a dead-ball situation in the whole group campaign, but we conceded two today. The Swiss are very strong in the air."

Romão reaction
José Romão, the Portugal coach, described his team's defeat of France on Tuesday as "fantastic". Portugal won 4-1 on penalties after triumphing 2-1 on the night. "Today, we have honoured the Portugal shirt," he added.

'Difficult match'
Italy are also in the finals after an away-goals victory against Denmark. Coach Claudio Gentile said after the 0-0 draw in Rieti: "It was a very difficult match for us especially because we felt a lot of pressure. We knew that we could have wasted all our work over the last 15 months. Tonight we didn't manage to play as we wanted."

'Luck on our side'
Germany coach Uli Stielike admitted his players had luck on their side after Benjamin Auer's injury-time goal earned a 1-1 draw in Turkey - and 2-1 aggregate success. "Turkey played better today and they forced us to perform above ourselves," he said. "But I am proud of my team who competed very well in this atmosphere. Luck was on our side, I must admit."

'Better side lost'
Turkey coach Rasit Çetiner said: "It's really hard to talk. At the end of a two-and-a-half-year effort, we could not get what we wanted. We were eliminated by a last-minute goal. Not the better side, but the luckier side qualified for the finals."

Gleb impresses
Belarus progressed in style, winning 4-0 in Poland to secure a 5-1 aggregate success. Jurij Pontus, the Belarus coach, said: "Even at 4-0, I still couldn't believe we were beating a strong team like Poland. But the way we performed we could not fail tonight." Brothers Aleksandr and Viacheslav Gleb both scored and Poland coach Edward Klejndinst said: "We had no player like Aleksandr Gleb."

Novosalec relieved
Croatia qualified at Scotland's expense, Tuesday's 1-0 defeat in Edinburgh not enough to undo their 2-0 win in the first leg. Coach Martin Novosalec said: "I expected this team to progress because this generation has already achieved success at Under-19 and Under-20 levels. But it was very, very hard for the team here in Scotland. We had chances to score many more goals at home and it would have been an easier finish if we had done that." His Scotland counterpart, Rainer Bonhof, said: "We created the chances we needed to turn the tie around but we missed them."

Norway restore pride
Despite their elimination, Norway coach Per Mathias Høgmo said he was "really proud" of his players after the 3-0 home win against Serbia and Montenegro restored some pride after a 5-1 first-leg drubbing. "My team played to their best today," he said. "We should have won 6 or 7-0. It makes the disappointment easier to accept."

Hysén delight
Sweden complete the finals lineup after their 1-1 draw in Spain secured a 3-1 aggregate triumph. The Swedish coach, Torbjörn Nilsson, said: "This was tough, and Spain really put us to the sword, but the boys did me proud and we fought well." Tobias Hysén, scorer of the Swedes' equaliser, said: "This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me."

UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers: