N'Diaye denies Turkey victory

Alfred N'Diaye's added-time equaliser kept alive France's hopes of reaching the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-finals, earning Jean Gallice's men their second Group B point against Turkey in Mariupol.

Late leveller
It looked as though Ogün Temizkanoglu's side were going to put the disappointment of the Matchday 1 defeat by Spain behind them following Sercan Yıldırım's 64th-minute strike. However, with the game entering its final second, Ryad Boudebouz's long-range shot came back off the crossbar and landed at the feet of N'Diaye, who had the simple task of tapping in the rebound. All four teams in the section can therefore still progress ahead of Monday's third and final round of matches, when France face Spain and Turkey take on Serbia.

Opening chance
Turkey coach Temizkanoglu made three changes to his starting lineup from the side that lost to Spain with Özgür Çek, Serdar Aziz and Eren Albayrak – all of whom were carrying knocks – missing out. The 2004 runners-up started brightly and were presented with the first opportunity of the game in the seventh minute when N'Diaye was caught in possession, allowing Tunay Torun to steal in and send a bending shot that came back off the post.

Slow pace
Gallice had predicted an open, attacking affair between two sides he believed would be looking for the win yet the first half did not pan out that way with chances at a premium for both teams. The lively Tripy Makonda almost engineered an opening for France just before the quarter-hour when he raced through on the left yet the Paris Saint-Germain FC defender failed to find a team-mate with his cut-back. Makonda's second attempt at a cross later in the half proved more successful, however, with Damien Le Tallec connecting with a header that flew narrowly wide.

Turkey lead
The deadlock was finally broken in the 64th minute, though, when Sercan struck. Umut Sözen's corner from the right found its way to the Bursaspor man, who fired low at goal and despite Makonda's brave attempts to clear, the ball had already crossed the line. With their hopes of reaching the last four in serious danger France went in search of the equaliser with Boudebouz and Le Tallec both missing the target. Turkey goalkeeper Ergün Emirhan was then twice called into action, pushing away Maxime Partouche's shot before getting down to deal with a Joshua Guilavogui effort from the resulting corner. Then, with the clock ticking down, N'Diaye pounced to secure France a draw.