Adrion happy Germany could provide final flourish

Rainer Adrion, Germany coach
Even if we didn't have a chance to progress, the match was still important because the team wanted to say goodbye to the people of Israel, and say thanks for their warm welcome, with a win. It was important to concentrate on the game against Russia and deny them chances for quick counterattacks. It was a very tough match and close right to the end as they hit the post in the last minute. The team showed character to win this match even if they could not make it through.

I talked a lot with the players over the last two days, it's been a great two years. We lost some players due to injury before the finals and even during the tournament in Christoph Moritz and Peniel Mlapa. That was a lot of quality not to have here, but we have spent a great time together and I know they thought a lot about their last match and even if they didn't make it through, I am sure they will have great memories of their time in Israel.

The team did not have the dominance and control of the ball that we expect but we improved during the game. A goal can change the game and the players have to realise that one counterattack can do that. I just wanted to win with this team and was not looking forward to 2015 with my selection tonight.

I am hoping that some of the players here can make it to the World Cup squad. Lewis Holtby is a clear contender. He was our outstanding player here and the team all looked up to him. Sebastian Rudy was also very good. You can't predict anything, any player can step up.

Nikolai Pisarev, Russia coach
Looking at the overall story of the tournament, we played against some extremely strong teams and quite a lot of the time we had to do it with fewer players. I don't think our team deserved to lose today as we played some good attacking football.

It was an excellent experience for our young Russian players. We've been happy to be here. These finals are not at the same level as full national team tournaments, but it is very close, and that will help us and those players in the years to come. At this age, defeats are sometimes more use than victories and that will help them in the future.

No doubt this game was the best performance of our tournament but unfortunately we are leaving the finals now. If we had stayed in contention, I am sure we would have continued our improvement.