GREAT CELEBRATION

Oreščanin after reaching the Semi-Finals: “This generation has something special”

05.07.2026.

Oreščanin after reaching the Semi-Finals: “This generation has something special”
Foto: UEFA

Following Croatia’s emphatic 3–0 victory over Serbia and qualification for the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Croatia U-19 head coach Siniša Oreščanin and opening goalscorer Lovro Chelfi shared their thoughts on the achievement.

With a convincing win over Serbia, combined with Ukraine’s victory against Italy, Croatia secured its place among the four best teams in Europe.

“I think this is a great achievement for our players, a great achievement for the entire coaching staff, the directors and everyone around us. It is also a great achievement for our country. Emotions are still running high, but we believed even after the first match. I don’t think there could have been a better scenario than this.

Now it is time to celebrate, but tomorrow is already a new day and we have to start thinking about Wednesday and the semi-final.

We said it before, when I tried to protect the boys after the first match – this is a generation that has shown from day one that it is ready and that it has something different, something special. We are overjoyed!” said Oreščanin.

 

Lovro Chelfi, who opened the scoring with a brilliant goal in the 9th minute, also could not hide his delight after the historic achievement.

“The feeling is fantastic, I still can’t believe it! Our goalkeeper kept saying that miracles are possible, and we made it happen. We scored early and played a great match from start to finish. I’m really proud of the boys.

It was an excellent performance and now we’re heading to the semi-finals against Spain. We’ll give everything we have and go for the European title!” said Chelfi.

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