Turkey kept its faint chances of reaching the last 16 of Euro 2016 alive by eliminating the Czech Republic with a hard-fought victory in Lens. It must wait for the group matches to get over to learn its fate.
A neat finish from Burak Yilmaz put the side ahead before Ozan Tufan smashed in from 10 yards to move Turkey up to third in Group D. The Turks had to face sustained pressure from a Czech Republic side that had fought hard to earn a 2-2 draw against Croatia in its previous match.
Youth comes good
Fatih Terim - in his third spell in charge of the Turkish side - had switched to youth power (only England boasts a younger squad at the tournament) for its EURO 2016 campaign, but his young team had looked disjointed till last night's match.
Borussia Dortmund's Emre Mor - at just 18 years of age and with only a handful of appearances in Norwegian league football to his name - was called the 'saviour' by the coach after the match. His dashing run in the right flank and a pin-point cross to Yilmaz opened Turkey's account against Czech Republic (see picture) . He became the third-youngest player to provide an assist in a European Championship finals game since 1980, with only Enzo Scifo (Belgium) and Wayne Rooney (England) having done that at a younger age.
Turkey, opting to play just Yilmaz up-front, had the perfect mix of youth and experience in the midfield to outclass a Czech side devoid of its talisman Tomas Rosicky. Goalkeeper Volkan Babacan, not exactly young at 27, was astounding for the Turks, as he pulled off a series of saves to keep the Czechs at bay.
It wasn't just the youth who put out a massive performance for Turkey though. Central defenders Hakan Balta and Mehmet Topal - both over 30 - provided the foundation for others to shine in Lens. The latter's excellent all-round presence was exemplified when he provided as assist for Ozan Tufan to smash inside and seal the victory.
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