Poland coach Michał Globisz and his Belgian counterpart Marc Van Geersom were united in praise for the talents of Dawid Janczyk after the Legia Warszawa striker's hat-trick earned his side a resounding win that revived the hosts' hopes in UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group A. Also bouncing back from losing their opening fixture were the Czech Republic, whose coach Miroslav Soukup hailed the fighting spirit of his players against Austria. uefa.com collects the reaction.
POLAND 4-1 BELGIUM
Michał Globisz, Poland coach
We played very well. Every section of my team - defence, midfield and attack - put in a lot of hard work to achieve this victory. The players were extremely motivated and played out of their skins to win this match, which was really their last chance. We started very well which was important and today we had a tremendous striker in David Janczyk. His goals improved the team's fighting spirit as his colleagues tried to follow him and it created a base for the final success.
Marc Van Geersom, Belgium coach
Poland changed their system today and we couldn't cope with it. In their first game Poland played very defensively, but against us a second striker was added and the midfield was organised better as well. We could not create enough chances, were not aggressive enough and did not perform well as a team. In the second half we made two substitutions and had the chance to take a grip of the game, but we didn't really manage to do that. At 3-1 I believed we could come back, but their fourth goal on the counterattack put an end to our fightback. Obviously Dawid Janczyk's performance also made a difference. He has excellent qualities and although we knew them, our defenders were unable to stop him. If he continues with these kind of performances, he can go very far.
AUSTRIA 1-3 CZECH REPUBLIC
Miroslav Soukup, Czech Republic coach
We knew it would be a tough game and Austria would be hard opponents; we saw their first game, against Poland in Poznan, and we prepared thoroughly. We knew they would be very solid in defence but we managed to score three goals so we can be pleased. Maybe you won't believe me but in attack we played the same as against Belgium, although in defence we didn't make the same terrible mistakes. I would like to thank my team because we were in a tough situation after losing the first match and today they showed what they're made of.
Paul Gludovatz, Austria coach
I would like to congratulate the town of Swarzedz for providing us with perfect surroundings and also the Czech Republic. It was a good match, clearly the Czechs were a class above us and psychologically we fell short - it was too much for us. The result was a fair one; the Czechs are a good team, you could see that in the first match when of the four goals that Belgium scored three of them came from Czech mistakes. I am not too disappointed, however, we are still in there competing.
İlhan Parlak completed a hat-trick with an astonishing 95th-minute equaliser as Turkey kept their UEFA European Under-19 Championship ambitions alive with an exhilarating 4-4 draw against Group B rivals Portugal in Szamotuly.
Frenetic finale
Diogo Tavares had left Portugal cruising at 3-1 with just over 20 minutes remaining after scoring twice, having also set up a sixth-minute opener for Hélder Barbosa. But Turkey refused to lie down and İlhan gave them hope on 68 minutes when he headed in his second of the game. Within minutes Mevlüt Erding had struck an acrobatic equaliser and although Bruno Gama converted a 74th-minute penalty to restore Portugal's advantage, there was to be another twist as İlhan achieved his treble to leave Group B wide open.
Fortuitous strike
Carlos Dinis's side must now beat Spain on Sunday to guarantee their passage to the semi-finals, a situation that seemed unlikely after a strong first-half performance. One of three players brought into the Portugal lineup, Tavares caused havoc for the Turkey centre-backs and after creating the first goal for Hélder Barbosa he added the second, turning the ball in from close range after Bruno Gama's left-wing free-kick had ricocheted off the post via a Turkish boot and into his path.
Araújo saves
It capped a demoralising start to proceedings for Turkey goalkeeper Serkan Boydak - one of five changes to the team that had lost 5-3 to Spain on Tuesday – but the two-goal lead was short-lived as İlhan sprang the offside trap and calmly fired beyond Igor Araújo. Given that Portugal had cancelled out a similar deficit against Scotland on Tuesday, the tables appeared to be turning and Araújo had to deny Serdar Özkan and İlhan with point-blank stops. However, when the excellent Gürhan Gürsoy rattled the upright from an acute angle just before half-time, it did not look like being Turkey's day.
Scrambled equaliser
Indeed, five minutes after the restart Portugal extended their advantage when Hélder Barbosa, who had missed two good openings, crossed for Tavares to head in. İlhan kept Turkey in the match as he chipped in Arda Turan's centre to make it 3-2 with over 20 minutes remaining and when Mevlüt equalised, Turkey were on course for a stunning fightback. Bruno Gama stopped them in their tracks from the penalty spot after substitute Feliciano Condesso had been brought down, before İlhan reined Portugal in a final time, squeezing the ball in after it had cannoned back off a post. As with Portugal, a win for Turkey against Scotland on Sunday will secure their unlikely progress.
Two headers by Gerard Piqué and strikes from Alberto Bueno and Mario Suárez helped Spain secure a safe passage into the last four of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with a commanding victory against Scotland.
Early opener
Spain dominated the match to ensure their second consecutive Group B win against a Scotland side who were a pale shadow of the team that drew 2-2 with Portugal earlier in the week. Although Tommy Wilson's men got off to a sprightly start, the Spaniards soon took control and deservedly went ahead through Bueno on the quarter-hour mark.
Towering Piqué
A fine run and cross from the left wing by the outstanding Diego Capel was controlled in the area by Tuesday's hat-trick hero Juan Mata, whose shot was parried by Andrew McNeil only for Bueno to pounce on the rebound and finish from close range. Spain then doubled their lead from a set-piece on 26 minutes. Roberto Canella received a short corner and delivered a curling centre to the far post which was met by Piqué's towering header.
Last touch
The second period was barely four minutes old when Piqué scored his second of the night, again with his head. This time the cross came from the right and the imposing Manchester United FC centre-back rose once more at the back stick to power the ball beyond McNeil, with what proved to be his last touch of the game.
Fletcher miss
Spain could have made it 4-0 on 57 minutes when Capel broke through down the left and rifled a low drive at goal but McNeil was equal to the challenge and made a fine reaction save. Scotland fought hard to find a way back into the match, the lively Steven Fletcher firing a snapshot from long range on the hour and then missing his side's best chance by somehow nodding wide in front of an open goal with Antonio Adán beaten.
Final flourish
However, despite Scotland's brave efforts Spain still found time to score again with five minutes remaining. Following a concerted spell of possession, Mario was spotted by Mata with a delightful through-ball and the midfielder curled his shot into the bottom left corner - a team goal to cap an impressive team performance. Spain are therefore assured of first place in the section with a match to spare while Scotland must defeat Turkey on Sunday and hope Portugal fail to defeat the Spanish.
by their #16 Mata.
