Under-21: Ruthless Türkiye, Titans punished above all at the end

Türkiye finally quenches its thirst for points – they were on zero before tonight – by inflicting a 5-0 defeat on San Marino’s Under-21s, a scoreline that takes shape above all in the closing stages. In Istanbul there are five changes in Matteo Cecchetti’s starting XI compared to the match a month ago away to Ireland. Among those confirmed is Giocondi, who drops into defence, while up front Zannoni partners D'Addario, making his first Under-21 start. Türkiye immediately finds the moment that allows them to put the match on a downhill slope. Karapo and Çanak combine well on the right, the full-back reaches the by-line and Dolcini, in an attempt to challenge him, brings him down. The Belarusian referee points to the spot, with Destan stepping up. Amici dives and saves the Trabzonspor striker’s penalty, but the number 9 is quickest to react and pounces on the rebound to turn it into the net. The hosts try to make the most of the momentum by further raising the tempo with quick passing moves on the deck. On 9 minutes Gürlük unleashes a fierce shot from the edge of the box, but is denied by a sensational reflex save from Amici, who, with one hand, claws the ball away from under the bar. San Marino have to sweat to contain the Turkish pressure, but push up whenever they can. It happens on 12 minutes: Contadini does well to win a wide free-kick after effectively closing down goalkeeper Bilgin, who is forced into a poor clearance. The captain himself takes the set piece: the defence clears, albeit scrappily. Türkiye reply with a long and patient attacking move that ends at the feet of Beyaz Faruk, picked out in the box by Karataş: the playmaker cuts into the area from a tight angle and unleashes a left-footed effort that is more powerful than accurate. On 25 minutes there is a terrific break from Zannoni. The number 10 not only tracks back into his own defensive third to thwart a Turkish attack, but also takes responsibility for launching the counter. After leaving a couple of opponents in his wake, the Biancazzurri striker releases strike partner D'Addario into space, who goes one-on-one with Saatçi before laying the ball off to the onrushing Contadini: the captain’s cross, however, fails to clear the Turkish anti-aircraft. Around the half-hour mark the hosts crank the engine up again. First it is Destan who goes close to doubling both the lead and his personal tally with a fairly unchallenged header from a Karataş cross: straight at Amici, who deals with it comfortably. Then Karapo tries a curling left-footer that whistles just over the top corner. In between, another free-kick won by Contadini, this time closer to the halfway line. The captain sends in a long delivery towards Zannoni, who rises unmarked and even gets it on target, but cannot generate enough power. After a powerful but wildly off-target left-footed attempt by Karataş from an Elmaz cross, San Marino’s goal has a real scare on a thumping header from Destan, who climbs above Giocondi but, from a great position, fails to hit the target. On 36 minutes Zannoni breaks again, emerging from a tangle on the right flank and, despite a hefty challenge, manages to reach shooting range: his effort is anything but hopeful, but fortunately for the home keeper – who remains rooted – the ball drifts wide. Türkiye turn that warning into a successful response, because a minute later Elmaz swings in a perfect cross from the wing onto Destan’s head, and the striker powers his header inside the near post to make it 2-0. San Marino show again at the very end of the half with the customary garra of Zannoni, who this time does not go for goal himself but looks for D'Addario. The defence knocks it back to Bilgin, who decides to attempt a dribble just a couple of steps from his goal line – the kind of move that coaches and team-mates tend to like very, very little. The keeper, however, gets away with it thanks to good footwork, evading pressure from a D'Addario who is practically glued to him. At the other end, the final flurries before half-time give Gürlük two serious chances to get his name on the scoresheet. The first is thwarted by a stunning intervention from Amici, who keeps out his close-range finish that seemed certain to go in; in the second, another reflex save from the San Marino keeper – less spectacular than the first but still decisive – prevents damage from the number 21’s corner, which was swung directly towards goal. At the restart Cecchetti sends on Rastelli for Dolcini. Türkiye resume with their foot firmly on the accelerator, forcing Amici into a couple of lifesaving interventions in the space of barely 30 seconds. The first is on Tagir, who meets a knockdown from Destan and, from the heart of the box, shoots almost as if it were a formality, only to find the shutters firmly down. The resulting corner is taken short: Gürlük has space to drive into the area and unleash a powerful curling effort, but once again Amici, with an extraordinary save, stifles the roar that was about to erupt from number 21. Another flying save from Amici comes on 58 minutes to keep out a powerful effort from Çanak on the edge of the box. Karapo is first to the loose ball and puts it in, but from an offside position. Shortly afterwards, San Marino break strongly through Zannoni, who is halted by a tackle from Tiknaz. No foul is given (and the forward remains on the turf in pain), and Türkiye launch a counter that ends with a precise assist from Destan for Gürlük who, completely unmarked in the box, makes a mess of his control and squanders it badly. In the meantime Sürme makes his first substitutions and one of the new arrivals, Yardimci, needs little more than a minute to head into the net, but again from an offside position. Karapo then tries an acrobatic header from a Beyaz Faruk cross (the ball dropping just over the bar), and number 10 himself tests Amici with a powerful left-footer that the keeper beats away. The same fate befalls Yardimci’s low drive from outside the area on 71 minutes, a handful of minutes after the introductions of Marco Pasolini and Marco Gasperoni. The young Biancazzurri are back in the Turkish box on 75 minutes thanks to a piece of individual play from Rastelli, who wins a couple of duels and reaches the by-line, but cannot find a gap to pick out his team-mates in the middle. In the final stretch, Türkiye resume their onslaught, padding the scoreline thanks to a rampant Yardimci. The substitute striker scores three times in the space of six minutes. On 79 minutes he meets Çanak’s assist, drives into the area and, from a position where it is harder to miss than to score, duly finds the net. On 81 minutes, after yet another brilliant save from Amici to deny Karataş’s left-footed strike, he is the quickest to pounce on the loose ball and lash it home. Finally, on 85 minutes, all it takes is a neat touch to beat the advancing Amici after a knockdown from Baltaci. In the meantime Matteo Cecchetti has never stopped urging his players on, noticing a drop in both physical and mental energy levels. From the bench he sends on Renzi and Pasquinelli, the latter replacing a D'Addario who shortly before had released Gasperoni in behind: the 2004-born forward had drifted wide but still did well to cross into the middle, where Bilgin came off his line to avert danger for the Turkish backline. The last chance of the match, however, again falls to Türkiye: Türkmen picks out Çanak in the middle of the area, and the latter slices his right-footed attempt, almost lobbing Amici with an unintended chip. That would have been harsh on an Under-21 side that will complete its 2023 European qualifying campaign by hosting Italy in just over a month’s time.

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Under-21, Euro 2025 qualifiers | Türkiye – San Marino 5-0 TÜRKIYE Bilgin; Karapo, Saatçi, Tagir (from 72' Baltaci), Karataş; Elmaz (from 76' Konak), Tiknak (from 62' Yardimci), Çanak; Beyaz Faruk (from 76' Potur), Gürlük, Destan (from 62' Türkmen) Subs: Özçimen, Dilmen, Özcan, Yldiz Coach: Levent Arca Sürme   SAN MARINO Amici; Giocondi, Giambalvo, M. Sancisi; Guidi (from 68' M. Pasolini), Dolcini (from 46' Rastelli), N. Sancisi (from 85' Renzi), F. Pasolini (from 68' Gasperoni), Contadini; Zannoni, D'Addario (from 85' Pasquinelli) Subs: Battistini, Guerra, Sarti, Terenzi Coach: Matteo Cecchetti Referee: Viktor Shimusik (BLR) Assistant referees: Sergei Kosovets and Anton Gusev (BLR) Fourth official: Anton Lashuk (BLR) Booked: Tagir, Destan, Giambalvo, Giocondi, Contadini, Rastelli Scorers: 5' and 37' Destan, 79', 81' and 85' Yardimci Note: on 5' Amici saves a penalty from Destan

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