Group 4: Latvia spring surprise

The Netherlands and Latvia progressed from Group 4 to the second qualifying round of the 2002/03 UEFA European Under-19 Championship after recording victories in their final first qualifying round games.

Incredible turnaround
Netherlands took their good form into their game against Finland, winning 3-0 and going through to the next stage with an unbeaten record. Meanwhile Latvia staged an incredible turnaround by beating Turkey 2-0. The result put them level on four points with their opponents – so they progressed on their head-to-head record.

Two draws
The group had begun with two draws. An Aktepe strike seemed to have secured victory for Turkey over the Netherlands, until MacDonald struck with three minutes left. There was a similar situation in the other opening game, Latvia equalising at the death after Lehtinen had given Finland the lead. The goal came courtesy of a Ivanovs penalty.

Late escape
The Netherlands took confidence from their late escape, and soundly beat Latvia in their second game – MacDonald and Rojer grabbing two goals apiece in a 4-0 win. Turkey put themselves in a strong position as Hacibektasoglu and Zengin scored to give them a 2-0 win against Finland in their second game.

Second round groups
However, Turkey were ultimately thwarted by Latvia, who will take part in Group 7 in the next round. The Netherlands will line up with Greece and two other as yet unknown sides in Group 6. The sides which top each second qualifying round group will reach next summer's finals in Liechtenstein.