Scotland hold nerve to reach last four

Scotland surged into the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, withstanding yet another rousing fightback from Turkey to prevail 3-2 in Swarzedz and claim second place in Group B.

Nerve-shredding win
Tommy Wilson's side began the day bottom of the section with one point, but a first-half own goal from İlhan Parlak – the sixth time the Turkish striker has found the net at these finals, albeit not in the manner he would have chosen – gave them the upper hand and further strikes from Michael McGlinchey and Steven Fletcher seemed to have settled the contest. Cafercan Aksu's quickfire double brought Turkey back into contention with 15 minutes left to play, but the Scots held their nerve in a tense finale and progress by virtue of Portugal's 1-1 draw with section winners Spain in today's other fixture.

Own goal
Scotland made the more positive start, Fletcher twice missing the target when well-placed although Cem Pamiroğlu's side gradually worked their way into the match with Arda Turan a particular threat down the left and İlhan a menacing presence up front. The latter might have added to his five finals goals when Turan's clever play left him with only Andrew McNeil to beat, but the goalkeeper was quickly off his line to block. Instead it was Scotland who snatched the initiative three minutes before half-time as Ryan Conroy floated in a deep right-wing free-kick and under pressure at the far post, İlhan inadvertently nodded into his own net.

Scots on top
Turkey had never held the lead in their first two matches either and they fell further behind in the 46th minute. Lee Wallace's perceptive pass freed Conroy down the left and the Celtic FC midfielder's perfect cross was brilliantly flicked beyond Volkan Babacan by club-mate McGlinchey. Turkey had mounted sterling comebacks against both Spain and Portugal but the Scots seemed to have wrapped up the win three minutes past the hour as their own prolific forward Fletcher showed good strength to retain possession before drilling a left-foot shot past Babacan.

Aksu double
Turkey quickly reduced the deficit as Aksu's right-wing free-kick found the top corner of the net and Scottish nerves were further frayed as Aksu pulled the score back to 3-2 by sending McNeil the wrong way from the penalty spot. Mevlüt Erding then struck the post, but Scotland retained their composure and will now play the Group A winners in Wednesday's semi-final. Turkey, despite their three games yielding an incredible 21 goals, finish bottom of the section and miss out on a place in next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.