MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Serbia threw everything at Denmark in the final minutes of Tuesday’s 0-0 draw that saw them eliminated from Euro 2024 and frustrated over what might have been.
“We did our best. We have not created enough chances to score the goal and that cost us. It is a bitter feeling,” said captain and veteran striker Aleksandar Mitrovic who cut an increasingly frustrated figure as the clock wound down.
“It is the worst when you are so near and you can do it and at the end you fail. This is a similar feeling we had in Qatar. We’re emotionally drained,” he added in a reference to Serbia’s departure from the last World Cup at the same stage.
Serbia ended Group C in last place with two draws, after a narrow 1-0 defeat to England and a 1-1 stalemate with Slovenia prior to their final encounter with Denmark in Munich.
“It is a huge disappointment. Realistically, it is a failure,” said fellow forward Dusan Tadic.
“Definitely there is regret. I feel sorry for the fans who came to support us here and who watched the game on their TVs,” added goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Coach Dragan Stojkovic paid tribute to the large numbers of passionate Serbia supporters who followed the team in Germany and echoed the players’ regret at not making them happier.
“Of course we’re disappointed because of the result. The match was very balanced. We were looking for one opportunity, for one goal … Now we will move on.
“We did everything possible. I put three, four strikers up front to try and break the defence. We played brave football, we tried to do our best. But it’s not easy you know.
“I don’t have anything to be ashamed of. I will walk with my head high … There is no reason to see things as tragic, nor will it ever be a tragedy when we are talking about games and sport.”
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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