Quick riposte sets ball rolling for hosts

Joint-coach Jörgen Lennartsson pinpointed Sweden's equaliser just a minute after conceding against Belarus in their Group A opener as the key to an emphatic 5-1 victory at the Malmö New Stadium on Tuesday. The hosts had just fallen behind to Sergei Kislyak's stunning 30-metre strike on 33 minutes when Aleksandr Martynovich deflected in Rasmus Elm's shot for the leveller. That steadied Swedish nerves and Margus Berg struck a hat-trick before Gustav Svensson completed the scoring late on. "They had more desire and that was reflected in the result," was Belarus coach Yuri Kurnenin's take on events.

Jörgen Lennartsson, Sweden coach
We're very satisfied with the result. We knew Belarus would have most of the possession as they have a skilful team but it was no problem for us if they had the ball in their half or in the middle. We needed a good attacking plan when we had the ball. The key was the goal to make it 1-1; it was very important for us mentally. We had been very good before their goal, with a move of five or six passes, but Emir [Bajrami] could not take his chance and after that they scored from distance. I think at that time we were not 100 per cent confident but then we got the energy from the first goal and after that we controlled the rest of the match.

For the moment we want to enjoy this result and we will start to think about Italy [on Friday] later on. I dedicate this victory to all the coaches in the Allsvenskan who work with these players, develop them in their clubs and train them every day - that's why they have become good players at this level. I think the way their goal was scored is not so easy to defend. I can't see any connection between this goal and the goals we conceded against Poland and Estonia [in friendly games at the start of the month] but I am very satisfied that for three matches in a row we have conceded an early goal and turned it into a victory. That is very good for confidence.

Yuri Kurnenin, Belarus coach
In the first 35 minutes we were equal to them and we even scored, then something happened and I can't explain it. We conceded three goals through mistakes not only by individuals but the whole team as well. We showed good possession but we could not take advantage of that. We tried to attack but left open areas which were used extremely well by the Swedish players. They counterattacked well and managed to score. The Swedish team were more organized, had more desire and that was reflected in the result. Now we have to analyse this game and understand what happened. It is the first game, we have two to go and we must play well in the remaining games.