The Cyprus national team lost 2-1 to Montenegro in the first match of Group 2 in League C of the Nations League.
After the match, the coach of our national team, Akis Mantzios, spoke to the press and commented on the game.
Here are his remarks in detail
Comment on the match: “To begin with, I’d like to divide the match into two parts. We were under pressure in the first half. They’re a quality team. We made a lot of individual and unforced errors. A terrible first half. In the second half, we improved and kept possession. In games like this, you have to show that you have quality. After the goal, we didn’t get pushed back, but they equalized with a bad penalty call. Toward the end, the game opened up and we conceded the second goal. We knew we were up against a good opponent. I’m satisfied with the second half because we showed that we can play. In the first half, we didn’t pay the price for our mistakes. We improved in the second half. We’re getting better with every game. It would be good to avoid a repeat of the first half.”
On the young players who made their debuts (Edwards, Tsaroulla, Konomis): “We have quality with these young players, but that takes time too. They, too, showed that we’re capable. I don’t know what we’ll achieve, but we have to play better soccer.”
