STUTTGART: Following is reaction to Spain’s 2-1 extra-time win over Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 after Mikel Merino snatched the winner in the 119th minute.
Spain midfielder, goalscorer and man of the match Dani Olmo: “Overwhelmed. What a great team! What a joy! The victory belongs to all of us. The group is the most important thing.
“The heart is always more important than the legs. Let’s take it easy and calmly, because in four days we have the semi-finals. We are going to enjoy, celebrate, but calmly and calmly, because in a few days we have the semi-finals.”
Spain midfielder and match-winner Mikel Merino: “Well, I’m exhausted, to be honest. The adrenaline is taking its toll on me now. It’s been a unique moment.
“There’s a lot of work behind it, especially from my teammates, who were doing a great job, and for them to equalise in the 90th minute is a setback, but it’s a reward for perseverance and I think we deserve it.
“The match we were all waiting for, between two of the best teams in the world. It could be a World Cup final or a European Championship final, the level of those who have come off the bench is very high.
“We have shown that we know how to suffer, that we have a great team.”
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, who was playing the last game of his career: “I would not say it was the most brutal match, but one where we put everything in. We did not want to lose, we were so close.
“Now at the moment the exit covers it all. We wanted to achieve something big and that dream is now gone. We will realise we played a good tournament, but being so close to reaching the next round is hard.
“We can all be proud because we improved. I am happy to have helped Germany as a football nation to have hope again. In the future I am convinced the team will succeed, but today we are sad because we wanted to stay in this competition a bit longer.”
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann: “It’s difficult to hold back the tears. They did not deserve to lose today. We reacted well after the break. Spain had only two chances in the second half, we were closer to the winner than Spain.
“We hit the post, we had a chance with a header. It hurts, it will take time to make it better, and a home tournament won’t come again in my career, I guess.
“We had a good team that stuck together - you could feel after the 1-0 goal that we were not satisfied, we wanted to give more. If we appeared as in the past with no appetite then it would have been deserved, but the team invested a lot.”
Germany striker Niclas Fuellkrug: “It is very sad that it is finished, you have a euphoria, a united feeling in Germany, it was a long time that this was not like that, but now it is finished.
“In the changing room it is silent, the coach found some good words, but nothing helps at the moment. There is no way to avoid your feelings, you will need some time.”
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon: “They (Germany) threw the ball away in one situation and we did in another. It’s harsh to say it was a dirty game. Even the German fan can be proud of his team.
“What we have achieved is historic, winning this game is like a Euro final. We have already celebrated, but we have to recover because in four days we have a semi-final.”
Germany defender Joshua Kimmich: “It is a different kind of disappointment - Qatar was a failure from us, this team is completely different. The past six weeks together have been very special, an amazing team spirit.”
