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Meridian dominance extended

Europe claimed the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup for the fourth time in 2005 with hosts Turkey, France, Spain and Portugal combining to guarantee victory.

By Andrew Haslam

Europe continued their domination of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup at the fifth edition of the competition in Turkey, with the hosts, France, Spain and Portugal combining their efforts to secure the trophy for the fourth time.

Continental control
Nigeria won the inaugural event in Portugal 1997, before Spain emerged triumphant in South Africa two years later. The format of the tournament was changed to find the winning continent in time for the 2001 edition, which was won by Europe, as was the next edition in Egypt in 2003. The pattern was repeated in Turkey's Aegean region this year, with Europe sides continuing to hold the upper hand.

French force
With Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and Sierra Leone the African opposition, the stage was set for an intriguing eight days as the tournament got under way on 4 February. France, UEFA European Under-17 Championship winners in 2003/04, were quickly into their stride against Cameroon; despite missing a number of first-choice players from the team that lifted the U17 crown on home soil last summer, Philippe Bergeroo's team ran out 7-0 winners with Jérémy Menez scoring a first-half hat-trick.

Opening victories
The other three European sides also began their respective campaigns with victories, Carlos Carmona scoring twice in Spain's 3-0 win against Sierra Leone while Turkey edged out Egypt 3-2 and Portugal were 1-0 victors against Nigeria.

First point
Having arguably produced the most creditable performance of the four African sides on the tournament's opening day, Egypt earned the continent's first point two days later as they held 2003 European U17 champions Portugal to a goalless draw in Ödemis. France, meanwhile, were unable to reproduce the scintillating form they showed on Matchday 1 but still recorded a 2-1 win against Sierra Leone, while Spain and Turkey both scored four without reply, against Cameroon and Nigeria respectively.

Perfect records
France, Spain and Turkey maintained their perfect records on Matchday 3, with the French defeating Nigeria 2-0 in Aydin while Spain and Turkey both secured narrow 1-0 victories, with Egypt and Sierra Leone respectively narrowly losing out. Portugal bounced back from their Egyptian stalemate to defeat Cameroon 3-1. The results ensured that Europe would retain the trophy for another two years, but there was a disappointment as the Gala match between Turkey and Tunisia's senior teams at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul was postponed due to snow.

Maximum points
Still, Europe's leading trio duly recorded victories on the fourth and final matchday to ensure they ended the tournament with maximum points. France defeated Egypt 4-1 in Söke, while Spain edged out Nigeria 3-1 and Cameroon were defeated 3-1 by Turkey. There was some consolation for Africa in Aydin, however, as Sierra Leone earned the continent another point with a goalless draw against the Portuguese.

Awards ceremony
The captains of the four European sides - Jérémy Menez of France, Spain's Francisco Javier García, Ugur Uçar of Turkey and Portugal's Bruno Gama - were presented with the Meridian Cup trophy at a ceremony at the tournament's headquarters, the Akadule Hotel in Kusadasi, following the final round of matches. Tournament hosts Turkey collected the Fair Play award having finished with the best record of the eight participants, while Menez, France team-mate Karim Benzema and Ergin Keles of Turkey, all finished with five goals to lead the scoring charts.