Turkey have registered their first victory in Euro 2016 qualifying by beating Kazakhstan 3-1 in Istanbul tonight.

Burak Yilmaz struck two first-half goals to put Turkey in cruise control, before Serdar Aziz capped a comfortable win to get his nation off the mark in their qualification campaign.

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Having taken just one point from their three previous Group A outings, Turkey went into tonight's clash knowing that victory was a must to maintain any hope of reaching the finals.

Fatih Terim's side reacted to that pressure and dominated the opening 20 minutes, with Yilmaz and Umut Bulut going close for the hosts early on.

The visitors looked to be struggling and it seemed only a matter of time before Turkey edged ahead - and they did on 26 minutes.

Yilmaz went down in the area under a challenge from Renat Abdulin, before the Galatasaray hitman dispatched the resulting penalty.

It was two just three minutes later, as Yilmaz took aim from just outside the box and watched his modest shot squeeze past Aleksandr Mokin before creeping over the line.

In a rare foray into Turkey's half, Kazakhstan might have reduced the deficit but Yuri Logvinenko saw his shot palmed away by Volkan Babacan on 53 minutes.

Turkey continued to threaten what would have been a killer third goal, and found one with seven minutes remaining as Aziz glanced Gokhan Tore's cross home for his first international goal.

Samat Smakov converted a late penalty for Kazakhstan, but it was soon rendered a mere consolation by the full-time whistle.

Written by
Shane Callaghan