Under-17: Turkey win to go top, strong character shown by the Titans

The Under-17 National Team began their European qualifying group with a 4-0 defeat to hosts Turkey. Bonesso’s boys approached the match with composure and a particularly positive, front-foot attitude. The early stages were very even and in fact the young Titans stood out with a couple of promising raids forward. One move in particular involved Montali (cross into the box), Montebelli (header lay-off) and Mazza, whose shot was blocked by a covering defender. Turkey soaked up these attacks without damage and took the lead on 12 minutes. The move came from a corner: Kabatkas’ delivery was inch-perfect for the head of Silvaslioglu, who planted his effort into the top corner. The Turks tried to ride the momentum. On 15 minutes Çetinkaya burst down the right and went one-on-one with Ryan Michelotti, saved by the post. San Marino tried to fight against the script and on 19 minutes threatened with a fine move: Monaldi quickly switched play and found Augusto Ceccoli, who played a first-time pass to match Cola’s run in behind; Cola immediately looked for Mattei, denied at the last moment by one of the home defenders. Only a corner resulted from a move that deserved more. But Turkey stayed fully switched on and doubled their lead on 28 minutes. From the flank, Deniz picked out Eksiner, who beat his marker with a clever feint and then finished unstoppably. San Marino nevertheless ended the first half on the front foot. Cola won the ball back in midfield and fed Mazza, who immediately went for goal: Baynazoglu was alert and parried.

The second half practically opened with the 3-0 goal. Turkey’s high pressing allowed Kabatkas to shoot from a very inviting position – and the home number 11 made no mistake. Even with the task becoming even harder, San Marino deserve credit for staying in the game. In fact, the search for a goal remained an obsession for the young Titans, who went close on 57 minutes through Montebelli, who did well to wriggle free from a three-man press before accelerating and unleashing a powerful shot from inside the box: this time Baynazoglu had to produce heroics to protect his clean sheet. Bonesso’s side did not drop off. A few minutes later the young Biancoazzurri produced another excellent move. Mattei exchanged passes with Montebelli and then, from the byline, again looked for his team-mate, well positioned in the penalty area but denied at the very last second by Silvaslioglu, who conceded the corner. At this point the gap suggested by the scoreline was not at all evident on the pitch. San Marino continued to look the hosts in the eye, trying to carve out at least the chance to reduce the deficit. But Turkey covered the spaces well and once again showed themselves to be a side capable of exploiting favourable moments to the full. And so, in the closing stages, when 3-0 seemed set in stone, Öztürk’s team added further gloss to the scoreline, again through Kabatkas, who received the ball in the box, freed himself from pressure with a great piece of movement and then beat Ryan Michelotti from a very inviting position. Meanwhile North Macedonia also claimed three points in their match with Hungary, but with a smaller goal difference. As a result, Turkey go top of Group 11 and will face Hungary on Saturday, while San Marino – at 10:00 Italian time – will take on North Macedonia.

Euro U-17, Round 1 – Group 11, Matchday 1 | Turkey – San Marino 4-0

TURKEY (4-3-3)

Baynazoglu; Sivaslioglu (66’ Akçay), Yurtdas, Harman (74’ Celik), Kirar; Canim, Yilmaz (66’ Uzun), Çetinkaya (46’ Yavuz); Eksiner (66’ Pirasoglu), Deniz, Kabatkas

Substitutes: Karabacak, Kirci, Yıldız, Durmaz

Coach: Güngör Öztürk

SAN MARINO (3-4-2-1)

R. Michelotti; Prendi, Jourdain (89’ M. Ceccoli), Piergiacomi (83’ Frulli); A. Ceccoli (75’ Baggiarini), Cola, Mazza (83’ Achilli), Montali (83’ Della Balda); Monaldi, Mattei; Montebelli

Substitutes: Ferri, Ricci, Renzi, L. Michelotti

Coach: Alessandro Loris Bonesso

Referee: Ihar Shumilau (BLR)

Assistants: Maksim Arabei (BLR), Stipe Brajković (CRO)

Fourth Official: Mateo Erceg (CRO)

Booked: Kirar

Scorers: 12’ Silvaslioglu, 28’ Eksiner, 48’ and 89’ Kabatkas