Meinert: Gee, we're playing really well today

Maren Meinert, Germany coach
I was pleased with the way we started the game. We knew we were a good attacking side but first of all you have to be tight at the back, win many balls, then you can have good attacks. From the first minute today we showed the desire to win.

We sat on the bench and shortly before our last goal were saying to ourselves: 'Gee, we're playing really well today.' It is a team which is quite good when it comes to creating chances through the middle, but of course we also notice the mistakes we keep making and things we still have to improve. We can admit that at times we enjoy watching this team play without it sounding arrogant. We have enough weaknesses but we enjoy ourselves.

Norway did very well on the break today. If you play Norway, a side which drops very deep, you have to bring many players forward, and they are waiting for it. I think we solved the counterattack situations very well and that is also very important for me as a coach, because our central defenders are not that experienced. I am pleased not to concede. Sometimes you are just lucky to score goals. You can't score five every day.

When you are coach of a German team you very quickly give up [fighting against other coaches making you the favourites]. The team has never played together before. I do not care what others are saying, I will be happy once we have qualified for the [FIFA U-20 Women's] World Cup, which means we have to put in another good performance. We want to seal that in the next match. We are well aware of the fact no one ever won any tournament after a single match.

Jarl Torske, Norway coach
Tonight was a terrible experience. In the first half we were outplayed in every way; we couldn't catch them. Getting into half-time 5-0 down, what do you tell the girls? We talked about how to get back into the game, in some way: don't concede any more goals, let's try to go for 0-0 in the second half just to stop it – and actually we managed that. All credit to the German team – so many good players, fast players; in both their individual skill and relational skill they were superior to us.

We said before the first half that playing in the final round is the most exciting thing you can do, go out and have some fun – but when you are 5-0 down it's not much fun. When you are 5-0 down at half-time you remember what happened in the final [2011 final, when Germany beat Norway 8-1]. Looking at our last three competitive games against Maren Meinert and Germany I think it's 8-1, 4-0 and 5-0 so what more can you do than congratulate a very good German team, clear favourites to win this [tournament].

The players are extremely disappointed and a little bit shocked, I think, about what they have experienced. But we already start to focus on the next two games because we are still in it. At the last EURO finals we [lost 3-1 to Germany in the opening game] and still managed to get the runners-up spot; that's what we have to fight for.