Under 21s obtain point in Istanbul

Hungary went into their match against Turkey having defeated Malta 2-1 in Gyirmót in their opening Group 6 match, the Turks having held Belgium to a draw in Leuven before losing to Cyprus in Larnaca.

Turkey controlled play during the first half in the Kasımpaşa Stadium, enjoying the bulk of possession and creating the more dangerous chances. The first real opportunity fell to Hungary, Donát Zsótér crossing from the right and Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort hitting the woodwork, whilst at the other end Bence Lenzsér cleared off the line in the 13th minute.

The hosts hit the woodwork in the 25th minute following an Orkan Cinar free-kick, and Patrik Demjén had to make a fine save seconds after a Turkish corner. Zsótér was then denied by the Turkish goalkeeper in the 38th minute, as Hungary began to threaten, Kevin Korozmán also coming close just before the break.

Demjén was called into action again early in the second half, head coach Michael Boris changing to a back three not long after with Bence Tóth replacing Dominik Szoboszlai. Hungary almost broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute, Attila Szalai’s header being cleared off the line by a defender. Szalai again came close in the 86th, his shot from fourteen metres going just wide of the post. The game remained scoreless though, meaning that Hungary have four points from their first two matches. Next up are Cyprus at the Szusza Ferenc Stadion in Budapest on 10 November.

“Overall I’m happy with the result; the Turks were better in the first half and caused our defence no end of problems, but in the second half we held the upper hand. We changed our formation in the second half and our game became more stable. We had three great chances to score but failed to take them. We’ve achieved our minimum aim for the match and on the basis of the whole 90 minutes a draw is a realistic result” said head coach Michael Boris after the match.

Turkey 0-0 Hungary
Hungary: Patrik Demjén – Donát Szivacski, Bence Lenzsér, Ákos Kecskés, Attila Szalai (Csaba Spandler, 90’) – Dániel Gazdag, Máté Vida – Donát Zsótér, Dominik Szoboszlai (Bence Tóth, 56’), Kevin Korozmán – Bence Bíró (Gábor Makrai, 75’)