Djukić salutes spirit, De Sart deflated

Serbia coach Miroslav Djukić hailed the team ethic that sent his side to a second UEFA European Under-21 Championship final in three attempts following the 2-0 defeat of Belgium in Arnhem. An early goal from Aleksandar Kolarov put Serbia in pole position at the Gelredome before substitute Dragan Mrdja wrapped up the win against a Belgium team whose coach Jean-François De Sart could only lament a failure to take chances.

Miroslav Djukić, Serbia coach
I'm more than happy, I'm proud of my team and my players. I believed deeply in this team and we know everyone in Serbia is very proud of us. We knew we had a strong side and for the next ten years we will be able to count on all these boys. We are a team. All our players have so many individual qualities but they all know they have to work together. They've put aside their individual needs for the good of the team. We're the national team of Serbia and we're thinking only about the badge on our shirts. We've been together for 20 days and I've never seen a group like this, even as a player. Everyone pulls together, players don't complain if they're on the bench or if they just play for a few minutes. First we must celebrate this victory, then we will relax and that doesn't leave much time to think about the Netherlands. It's too much for these young players to think about the final tonight, they should enjoy this win.

Jean-François De Sart, Belgium coach
We're all very disappointed because we hoped to go further. We have a very good team and I'm proud of my squad. We had the better chances but it's goals that count. Serbia are the most clinical team in this tournament and they proved that again tonight. Throughout these finals my team have given 200 per cent and we saw that again today, we had 21 players who were ready to play. We could have been in the final if we'd taken our chances. I'm very proud of all my players, they've got to the semi-finals of a European Championship and were the better team on the night - but we lacked that clinical edge in front of goal. We dominated Serbia and that's the message I'll be giving to my players. Today every player was ready to give their all. This is a group with ambition and they've proved that on the pitch.