Spain fight back to turn over Turkey

Spain opened their UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign with three points after two goals in three minutes helped them run out 2-1 winners against Turkey in Mariupol.

Spain response
With a famous 4-0 qualifying win against Portugal fresh in their minds, the young Turkish stars started in rapid fashion, stunning their opponents with an early goal on the counterattack from Eren Albayrak. Spain had to wait until the second half to find a response with Iago Falqué converting a penalty before Jose Luis San Martin smashed in from close range two minutes later to secure victory for his team.

Turkey lead
Luis Milla's Spain side took control early on but could not convert their possession into chances and instead it was Turkey who broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. A swift move ended with Tunay Torun sliding a pass into Eren on the edge of the Spain area and from there the Bursaspor midfielder turned Mario Gaspar Pérez before firing into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Spain – four times champions at this level but eliminated in the group stage a year ago – lifted themselves and created two presentable openings through Iago Falqué and Gaspar Pérez, but neither could find the finishing touch.

Converted penalty
With the second half barely seconds under way, Turkey almost doubled their lead when Tunay reacted quickly after Spain goalkeeper David De Gea's error but the Hamburger SV forward saw his goal-bound effort cleared away by the scrambling defence. Spain made their opponents pay almost immediately as San Martin was tripped by Serkan Kurtuluş inside the penalty area in the 49th minute. Iago Falqué made no mistake from the spot, the Juventus forward calmly slotting in the equaliser.

Winning goal
Coming so soon after missing a gilt-edged chance, the spot-kick was a big blow to Turkey and two minutes later Spain had turned the match on its head. Finding space down the right touchline, Villarreal CF midfielder Jordi delivered a dangerous cross into the near post where San Martin was on hand to finish emphatically past Ergün Emirhan and into the top corner. Turkey came forward in ever-increasing numbers and almost earned a share of the spoils in the final moments, but Sercan Yıldırım blasted wide when well placed in front of goal. Spain meet Serbia on Friday while Turkey will look to kick-start their Group B bid against France.