Czech Republic 0-2 Turkey

Turkey kept alive their faint hopes of reaching the last 16 of Euro 2016 and eliminated the Czech Republic with a hard-fought victory in Lens.

The result guarantees Northern Ireland go through, while Turkey must wait until Wednesday to learn their fate.

A neat finish from Burak Yilmaz put them ahead, prompting Czech pressure which saw Tomas Sivok hit the post.

Volkan Babacan made a string of saves before Ozan Tufan smashed in from 10 yards to move Turkey third in Group D.

Fatih Terim's side and Albania in Group A are vulnerable on three points and results on Wednesday could see a host of countries in Group E and Group F replace them to qualify as one of the best third-place finishers.

Turkey had not scored in the tournament before Tuesday's match, but they looked revitalised in northern France and knew that with each goal they scored, their goal difference and hopes of a continued stay improved.

They looked a lot more like the team who arrived at Euro 2016 with just one loss - to England - in 16 matches, and they bravely soaked up what the Czechs threw at them to inflict a defeat which could be the last action of Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech's international career.

These are the teams currently third in each group with the top four going through. If points are level, it comes down to goal difference, then goals scored, then fair play rankings from the group and finally - if they still cannot be divided - Uefa national team coefficient rankings

Turkish hope remains... just

Turkey's players and staff celebrated their second goal wildly

Turkey would surely have taken these slim hopes of progress back in 2014, when a poor start to qualifying left dreams of appearing at the tournament in tatters.

Terim - in his third spell in charge of the national side - changed eight of his starting XI between the beginning and end of qualifying and though his squad sneaked through, they had looked blunt in France until Yilmaz flicked home Emre Mor's cross.

Borussia Dortmund's Mor - at just 18 years of age and with only a handful of appearances in Norwegian league football to his name - sums up Terim's switch to youth.

Only England boast a younger squad at the tournament, but it was central defenders Hakan Balta and Mehmet Topal - both over 30 - who provided the platform for others to shine in Lens.

Babacan in goal behind them dealt with efforts well to record five saves and his good work was underlined when Tufan drove in from a Topal lay off in the area.

The 2008 semi-finalists suddenly had hope and their position almost improved further, only for Olcay Sahan to fire wide from 12 yards.

Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Babacan had to remove a flare after his country scored a second

Czech misery compounded

Petr Cech has conceded more goals than anyone in European Championship history - 21

Despite their perilous position, Turkey's players looked overjoyed at the final whistle, a stark contrast to their Czech counterparts.

Pavel Vrba's side have produced a run of just two wins in nine and have failed to right the wrongs they ran into in qualifying where they did not keep a clean sheet.

Both Turkey goals arguably arrived with too much ease and the Czechs will look to Sivok's header against the woodwork and Pavel Kaderabek's failure to connect with a low cross as moments at which the game could have turned before the break.

To go home with just a point represents a huge failure for the Czech Republic, a nation which has reached the knockout stages in three of its five European Championship campaigns.

Cech's reaction summed it up as he stood with his head in his hands at the end of what was a dismal night and tournament for his country.

His international career is possibly over, as is that of Tomas Rosicky, meaning the nation will go into a World Cup qualifying group featuring Germany and Northern Ireland in need of inspiration from new sources.

Only Republic of Ireland brought an older squad to Euro 2016, a tournament which has posed questions for Czech Republic which a new generation may need to answer.

Man of the match - Mehmet Topal

Topal laid on Turkey's second but shone defensively, making 15 clearances as his side kept a clean sheet

What they said...

Czech Republic coach Pavel Vrba: "We didn't use the ball very well. We couldn't break up play in midfield, then the opposition counter-attacked and scored. We had chances in the first half, but we couldn't take them."

Turkey coach Fatih Terim: "If we advance, we can do what we did in Euro 2008, because our confidence is growing now. We still have some problems but now it's easier to find some solutions. We have a good side and now we have our team spirit back. Everybody was involved. If we advance, I think we will have a long way to go."

Turkey forward Burak Yilmaz: "Many things were written and said about us. We're the players, but we are not asked about our thoughts and feelings. People comment on us without knowing what's going on in the squad. But our thoughts and feelings went into the game today."

The stats you need to know...

• Burak Yimaz has netted eight goals in his past 11 games for Turkey.

• Emre Mor is the third-youngest player to provide an assist in a European Championship finals game since 1980 (18 years 332 days), with only Enzo Scifo (18 years 114 days in 1984) and Wayne Rooney (18 years 240 days in 2004) younger.

• Petr Cech has equalled the record for most appearances at major tournaments by a Czech Republic player, now level with Karel Poborsky on 17 games.