Degrange joy as Vilda rues luck

France coach Jean-Michel Degrange felt his team merited their 1-0 win against Spain due to their more ambitious approach, a view not shared by counterpart Ángel Vilda, who said luck was the only difference between the teams. There were no such fine margins as the Netherlands defeated the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 7-0 in the other game, and Jong Oranje coach Hesterine de Reus praised her players for making light of the humid conditions, while opposite number Dobrislav Dimovski expressed the hope his charges find the back of the net at least once against France on Sunday.

Jean-Michel Degrange, France coach
It was a good performance in a difficult game. The result is just reward for the team that tried to attack the most. I was very pleased with that, and the girls always looked to put moves together. The conditions made things difficult, with the heat. I was surprised Spain played so defensively. I saw their first game and thought they played nice football. It's a shame because they could have made it a better match. Now we have another important game, but there's a risk three teams will finish on six points – and if that happens, goal difference between the sides is not in our favour.

Ángel Vilda, Spain coach
The match was very balanced, but France had the fortune to score. Spain showed with our play right up until the end of the game that it was just a question of France having the luck today. We were just about equal. They got their goal, but after that we were able to create a few chances. The ball just didn't want to go in. The difference came down to small details.

Hesterine de Reus, Netherlands coach
I think we did a good job in the hot and humid conditions as we scored a lot of goals. The girls were eager to score more than Spain did against Macedonia and they're delighted to have done exactly that. These two results give us a good head start as Spain must now score a few goals [to eliminate us] and we have a very good and strong defence. It's a very exciting group and nothing will be decided until the last matches. Both Spain and France are very good sides.

Dobrislav Dimovski, FYROM coach
We were aware of how strong the Dutch are. They have strength both in quality and depth, while we are a young side when it comes to women's football. We also have an injured goalkeeper [Cvetanka Petrova] who was playing with a torn knee ligament, but the decision was taken by the players and staff to keep her in the team and we all stand by it. Our last game against France will also be against a tough opponent and our aim is to score at least one goal.