Turkey take Group 5 honours

Turkey confirmed their place in this summer's UEFA European Under-19 Championship final round with a 1-1 draw against Russia.

Top of the table
The result left Müjdat Yalman's team on seven points at the top of Group 5, a point ahead of Croatia. Russia, meanwhile, finished in third place having collected three points from their three matches.

Turkish nerves
In front of 1,000 spectators in Kusadasi, the mini-tournament hosts Turkey kicked off full of confidence having won both their previous games, but betrayed their nerves with a succession of errors in the opening stages. Russia could have won the group – and qualified for the finals in Switzerland - with a victory, and went ahead through Semen Melnikov in the 29th minute.

Immediate response
The lead lasted only four minutes, however, as a one-two with Selcuk Inan sent Kerim Zengin through, and the striker kept his head to beat goalkeeper Vladimir Suleimanov and equalise. The goal visibly lifted the home side, who controlled the remainder of the first period.

Second-half deadlock
Knowing that victory was essential, Russia pressed forward after the interval, leaving Turkey opportunities to threaten on the counterattack. Neither side could find another goal, however, and Russia ended the match with ten men following the dismissal of Nail Minibaev in the final minute after the defender collected a second yellow card.

'Played the best football'
"I think overall, we were the best side in this section, produced the best football and deserved to qualify," said Turkish youth football director Korkmaz Tekin Onay. "Despite our success, I was not totally satisfied with our performances in the first two matches, where we failed to play the skilful and speedy football that is our strength. We will now concentrate on the final round, and use our warm-up matches to discover talented players who may fit into our team."