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Marko Pantelic praises Serbia's character after coming from behind to beat Northern Ireland
Striker feels his nation have made many mistakes so far in qualifying but can still claim a place at Euro 2012
26 Mar 2011 15:55:00
By Luke Matthews
Experienced striker Marko Pantelic was full of praise for the spirit shown by Serbia, after the Balkan nation came from a goal down to defeat Northern Ireland 2-1 in Belgrade last night.
Pantelic's 65th minute equaliser cancelled out Gareth McAuley's early opener before Zoran Tosic scored what proved to be the winning goal 16 minutes from time.
The result leaves Serbia in joint second place on seven points alongside Slovenia, although still six points adrift of leaders Italy, but Pantelic feels his side are still on target to qualify.
"It is essential that we showed such strong character when it was needed most," the Olympiakos player told UEFA.com after the game.
"We managed to get back into the match, even though we were behind at half-time. We have made many mistakes during qualifying so far but I believe we still have a chance to get what we deserve - a place at Euro 2012."
The striker believes his side's next game against Estonia on Tuesday will be pivotal if Vladimir Petrovic's men are to harbour realistic hopes of reaching next year's Euro 2012 finals to be held in Poland and Ukraine.
"This victory will only have significance if we win in Tallinn in four days," Pantelic added.
With Italy not due to play another qualifier until June, Serbia can close the gap at the top of Group C with victory over Estonia midweek to three points.
| Bet: | Returns: | Sweden £17.50 | Draw £34.00 | Serbia £42.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sweden £17.30 | Draw £34.00 | Serbia £40.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sweden £17.27 | Draw £35.00 | Serbia £45.00 |
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Pantelic's 65th minute equaliser cancelled out Gareth McAuley's early opener before Zoran Tosic scored what proved to be the winning goal 16 minutes from time.
The result leaves Serbia in joint second place on seven points alongside Slovenia, although still six points adrift of leaders Italy, but Pantelic feels his side are still on target to qualify.
"It is essential that we showed such strong character when it was needed most," the Olympiakos player told UEFA.com after the game.
"We managed to get back into the match, even though we were behind at half-time. We have made many mistakes during qualifying so far but I believe we still have a chance to get what we deserve - a place at Euro 2012."
The striker believes his side's next game against Estonia on Tuesday will be pivotal if Vladimir Petrovic's men are to harbour realistic hopes of reaching next year's Euro 2012 finals to be held in Poland and Ukraine.
"This victory will only have significance if we win in Tallinn in four days," Pantelic added.
With Italy not due to play another qualifier until June, Serbia can close the gap at the top of Group C with victory over Estonia midweek to three points.
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Sweden - Serbia
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Sweden 2-1 Serbia
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And here are some quotes from today's goalscorer, Danny Welbeck: "It's still the same, me and Ashley [Young] playing together.
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
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