turkishnationalteam-blog

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Turkey win 3rd place of 2002 World Cup by beating South Korea 3-2

Turkey, who came to the World Cup finals for the first time in 48 years but stunned the world by jumping into the semi-finals, won the third place of the 2002 World Cup by beating co-hosts South Korea 3-2 in the third-place playoff in Taegu on Saturday. South Korea, who also made a history for their country and Asia for roaring into the semi-finals for the first time, had beaten European soccer powerhouses Portugal, Italy and Spain and were only upset 1-0 by Germany in the semi-final match. But the Asian heroes came across a nightmare in the first half of today's playoff. Turkey's ace striker Hakan Sukur scored the quickest-ever goal in World Cup history only 11 seconds into action, lifting his side to 1-0 lead. Sukur, who had never collected any goal in this World Cup matches before today's game, took advantage of a fatal mistake made by South Korea's veteran defender Hong Myung-bo and darted into the box clearly, pouncing the ball to the almost open goal. South Korea's midfielder Lee Eul-yong leveled the score by sending home a brilliant curling free-kick in the 9th minute. But only after four minutes, Sukur's new partner up front Ilhan Mansiz got a timely pass from Sukur and fired a close-range shot home, giving Turkey a 2-1 lead. Ilhan Mansiz, who scored a golden goal in his side's quarter-final against Senegal and became a starter for the first time in this World Cup, scored his second goal in the 33rd minute, giftinghis side a 3-1 lead. After a dazzling combination between Ilhan Mansiz and Hakan Sukur, Ilhan rushed into the box clearly and fired his shot past the goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae who darted out. Although South Korea's defender Song Chong-gug blasted a long-range shot home in the injury time of the second half, it was too late for the history-makers to create more miracles. The South Koreans launched waves of attacks on their opponents and beleaguered the Turks' goal. But their finals shots often flew wide or high. A few shots on goal were often saved by keeper Rustu Recber who was in a normal form today. The Turks concentrated more on their defense and created few scoring chances in the second half. South Korea's defense line appeared weaker than before in this match, partly because of the injuries on their left back and right back defenders. On the other hand, Ilhan Mansiz and Hakan Sukur, the new partners up front for Turkey, showed their unbelievably brilliant performance in the first half. Before today's match, Turkey had already eliminated another co-hosts Japan in the knockout stage of this tournament. And they could be called killer of East Asian teams as they also beat China3-0 in the group stage. Although Turkey lost 1-0 to four-time champions Brazil in the semi-final clash, their great performance in that game won the respect of the world. But one interesting fact was that Turkey were lucky to have never met any European soccer teams in this World Cup.

That Historical Match

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Goal of the year from Altintop

The Turkey international was rewarded for his stunning strike against Kazakhstan with the coveted trophy...

Turkey international Hamit Altintop is the recipient of FIFA's 2010 Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.

Altintop was rewarded for his stunning volley against Kazakhstan in a September Euro 2012 qualifier at the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich.

The Bayern Munich midfielder was presented the award by the goalkeeper against whom he scored, Andrei Sidelnikov.

Speaking on the special occasion, the 28-year-old said, "I would like to thank everyone. It’s not that bad to write a bit of history like this.

"I am very happy about this award and later on I will have a glass and say cheers to a few of the players here. It might not have been the most important but it was certainly the most spectacular."

You can watch Altintop's volley below:

Hamit Altintop, Turkey v Kazakhstan, Euro 2012 qualifier

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A Historical Match of Turkey

Two late Nihat Kahveci strikes booked ten-man Turkey a place in the UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals in an exhilarating climax to their Group A match against Czech Republic in Geneva.

Jan Koller gave the Czechs a 34th-minute advantage with a thumping header and Jaroslav Plašil turned in Libor Sionko's cross to double the lead two minutes past the hour. Turkey gave themselves a fighting chance thanks to Arda Turan's low effort before Nihat capitalised on a Petr Čech mistake to level three minutes from time.

With spot kicks looming, Nihat galloped clear to send Turkey through with a spectacular finish, although there was still time for Volkan Demirel to be sent off for shoving Koller. Tuncay Şanlı took the gloves as Fatih Terim's men set up a quarter-final against Croatia.

The teams kicked off with identical records and a draw would have necessitated a penalty shoot-out to decide who took second place behind Portugal – an outcome both coaches were anxious to avoid. Karel Brückner started with Koller up front, and his height ensured the Czechs had the better of the opening period, with Tomáš Ujfaluši launching long passes forward for him to knock down to Libor Sonko and Plašil. Such direct tactics nearly paid dividends as Sionko headed Marek Jankulovski's free-kick wide.

Koller was causing havoc every time the Czech Republic pushed forward, steering one header narrowly over before finding Marek Matějovský for an attempt that was well dealt with by Volkan. Turkey were struggling to get into the game but finally registered their first effort on goal when a Tuncay strike fizzed wide of Čech's upright, although it was the Czechs who continued to look the more likely to make the crucial breakthrough.

That opening goal eventually arrived in the 34th minute from a predictable source as Zdeněk Grygera escaped down the right to deliver a perfect cross for Koller to nod his 55th international goal beyond the despairing dive of Volkan and give his side a richly-deserved lead. If their first-half travails were not worrying enough for Turkey, they also had the knowledge that the Czechs had never lost a competitive match in which Koller had scored.

That statistic seemed ever more relevant in the 62nd minute when Plašil met another fine centre, this time from Sionko, with a sliding first-time volley that Volkan could not keep out. Despite the increased deficit there had been hope for Turkey, with Nihat and Tuncay going close after the restart as Terim's team finally began to find their feet on a slippery surface.

In the countries' previous meeting, Turkey had scored twice in the closing two minutes to earn a draw but such a scenario appeared a long way off as the Czechs threatened again as Jan Polák rattled the upright. Suddenly, however, Turkey revived as Hamit Altıntop cut in from the right for a cross that found Arda – the hero against Switzerland – at the far post to halve the deficit.

The Czechs still looked like holding on, until an uncharacteristic error from Čech shattered their chances. The No1 dropped another Altıntop centre at the feet of Nihat, who duly prodded in. Two minutes later Altıntop's pass sent Nihat through and the Turkey captain clipped the ball in off the underside of the crossbar under extreme pressure to take his side through. They will play Group B winners Croatia in Vienna on Friday, when Mehmet Aurélio will be suspended along with Volkan.

Summary of that match 

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Turkey pull away to beat Kosovo in second half

Second-half goals from Burak Yilmaz and Volkan Sen gave Turkey a first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat Kosovo 2-0 in Group I.

Beijing Guoan striker Yilmaz turned his man and fired into the bottom right corner following Yunus Malli's pass to open the scoring in the 51st minute at Antalya Arena. 

Fenerbahce winger Sen doubled the advantage four minutes later, hooking home a volley from close range after Yilmaz's lob came back off the crossbar.

Turkey, who drew two and lost one...

Summary of Match