Turkey@ Japan 2:30 AM EST

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NEWS: Turkey may have up to 8 players unavaliable for this game. Hakan Sukur, Hasan Sas and goalkeeper Rustu have slight strains and may be out for the game(just confirmed SAS is playing). Muzzy Izzet and Okan Buruk already haven't played a game as they are both injured. Nihat Kahveci is also injured.

Add to that the two Emre's that are suspended and turkey may have to come with 15 players to the game...

 

[JediCapper]

so what your saying is that Japan is the pplay here

 

[JediCapper]

well come to think of it...how can you go against the Home Team???? I do like Japan for that reason...and that reason only.

 

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Zico believes Japan can reach last four
TOKYO, June 15 (AFP) - Brazilian legend Zico believes Japan can surpass their wildest dreams and reach their semi-finals of the World Cup as football fever swept the host nation here Saturday.

Japan achieved their pre-tournament goal in style on Friday, defeating Tunisia 2-0 to finish as Group H winners and advance to a second round meeting with Turkey next Tuesday.

While the Turks present a tough test for the Japanese, Zico believes Japan have what it takes to win and go through to a quarter-final against either Sweden or Senegal.

"It is not a dream that Japan could reach the semi-finals," Brazilian football legend Zico wrote in the daily Nikkan Sports.

He said Japan and their rivals in the same quarter of the tournament -- Turkey, Sweden and Sengal -- were at the same technical level.

"I can imagine the Japanese players rejoicing in the final tournament as well," said Zico, 49, who has played in and guided the J-League since its birth in 1993.

No team from Asia has ever gone further than the quarter-finals at the World Cup, North Korea in 1966 the only team to advance to the last eight.

But Japan's steady progress, which has slowly but surely captured the imagination of the baseball-adoring public, is heightening expectation.

German coach Dietmar Cramer, who piloted Japan to a bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, said the Japanese game was growing "at tremendous speed as a teenaged youth."

"The real World Cup has just begun," he said, adding Japan could reach the semi-finals if they had a striker like Kunishige Kamamoto, who scored seven goals in the country's 1968 Olympic battle.

Japan have scored five goals in the three group matches against Belgium, Russia and Tunisia, with four of them through midfielders.

Arsenal reserve Junichi Inamoto ruffled the net twice and one goal each came from Parma supersub Hidetoshi Nakata and Osaka Cerezo star Hiroaki Morishima.

Japan would have faced four-time champions Brazil in the next match should they finished second behind Belgium in Group-H.

"I cannot say which team would be better for us to play," Nakata said. "Turkey is also a very, very good team."

Japan's French coach Philippe Troussier said his team would face Turkey "with a lot of confidence." "We're creating a dynamic, a momentum."

Meanwhile Japan celebrates. About 640 people dived into a famed downtown canal in Osaka in mass jubilation in the small hours Saturday after Japan's win over Tunisia.

"I've never seen anyhing like it," an Osaka police spokesman said, noting that only dozens leapt into the murky Dotonbozi when local club Hanshin Tigers won the national baseball championship in 1985.

No baseball matches were scheduled for Friday to show respect for Japan's footballing effort.

 

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Japan-Turkey

Varied Strikers
Both Japan and Turkey have five goals scored in the first stage by four different players. INAMOTO Junichi (JPN) and Hasan SAS (TUR) scored twice, and SUZUKI Takayuki, MORISHIMA Hiroaki, NAKATA Hidetoshi (JPN) each scored one for Japan, while Bulent KORKMAZ, Emre BELOZOGLU and Umit DAVALA (TUR) each netted one for Turkey.

Quarter-final Hosts
The 1994 tournament was the only FIFA World Cup final competition in which the host team did not qualify for the quarter-final stage. The USA were beaten by the eventual champions, Brazil, by a score of 1-0 in the Round of 16. That match was the last time a host team was defeated.

No Goal Patrol
Japan, along with England, are the only two teams in which no goals had been scored against them in the last two matches of first stage.

Turkey's Return
In 1954, the only other FIFA World Cup final competition that Turkey have appeared in, the Turks shared their first stage group with the two teams that advanced to the Final, Germany FR and Hungary.

Italian Officials
With the Japan-Turkey match, Pierluigi COLLINA (ITA) will be refereeing a match of the host team for the second time. In 1998, COLLINA officiated over France??s 2-1 victory over Denmark. COLLINA gave out four cautions (two for each team) and whistled two penalties (one for each team) that were converted. With an Italian referee, host teams have lost only one time in five matches. The one loss came in 1982 when CASARIN was the match official for Spain's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Germany FR. The other Italians to referee a host team match were LO BELLO in 1966 (England-Mexico 2-0), GONELLA in 1978's Final (Argentina-Netherlands 3-1) and BALDAS in 1994 (USA-Colombia 2-1).

 

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Japan
Swept along on a tide of feverish home support, the co-hosts and outsiders Turkey will make history on Tuesday when they meet in an intriguing World Cup second round clash at the Miyagi Stadium.

Neither has got so far in the finals before, both have achieved their pre-tournament expectations and the form book shows that in only one previous meeting, a friendly in Osaka in June, 1997, Japan managed a 1-0 win.

But the Japanese, buoyant after two successive first round wins, have tempted providence by talking of a quarter-final return to Osaka to meet Senegal on Saturday. Though an unbgeaten run on home soil that stretches back a year is in their favour.

KEY MAN: Junichi Inamoto. Continues to be Japan's leading light at the finals and another big performance will be needed from him if the co-hosts are going to ovverrun a confident Turkey side.

Turkey
The Turks have taken time to settle into the tournament since their controversial reverse against Brazil in their opening group game.

"It's all about experience, it's not an easy thing," said coach Senal Gunes. "The World Cup is a new event for us and it takes experience to fit in with the conditions of the competition."

Turkey's only previous finals appearance was in 1954 when they beat South Korea 7-0 in a group match, but were eliminated 7-2 in a play-off with West Germany. But they have problems in 2002 due to two suspensions.

Midfielder Emre Belozoglu could be replaced by Okan Buruk, if he has recovered from a thigh strain, or utility man Ergun Penbe, while in defence Alpay Ozalan is likely to return from suspension for the banned Emre Asik.

In addition to Hasan Sas, striker Hakan Sukur and goalkeeper Rustu Recber are being treated for injuries, but are expected to play. Japan have no injury problems or suspensions.

KEY MAN: Hakan Sukur. Once Turkey's most important player, the lanky front man has lost his role as talisman to Hasan Sas. Has been out of touch so far and owes his country a big game. He could do worse than deliver it here.

PROBABLE TEAMS:

Japan (4-4-2): 12-Seigo Narazaki; 3-Naoki Matsuda, 17-Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, 16-Koji Nakata; 20-Tomokazu Myojin, 5-Junichi Inamoto, 7-Hidetoshi Nakata, 21-Kazuyuki Toda, 18-Shinji Ono; 11-Takayuki Suzuki, 13-Atsushi Yanagisawa.

Turkey (4-5-1): 1-Rustu Recber; 4-Fatih Akyel, 3-Bulent Korkmaz, 5-Alpay Ozalan, 20-Hakan Unsal; 22-Umit Davala, 8-Tugay Kerimoglu, 10-Yildiray Basturk, 18-Ergun Penbe, 11-Hasan Sas; 9-Hakan Sukur.

Match referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
Linesmen: Maciej Wierzbowski (Poland) Paul Smith (New Zealand)

 

[JediCapper]

I appreciate you taking your time to post all this info for us good luck to ya my freind

 

[JediCapper]

yuck Japan looking ugly...gonna be hard to win this wager..gotta score 2 goals in 45 minutes...lol I think not, well not the way they are playing...go italy!!

 

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A stupid mistake by their left back caused that goal, and what the hell was the man at the post on the corner kick thinking??

You are standing next to the post to protect the corner, as the ball was headed into the net he walked away from it when he had a chance to head the ball out.

Also, Japan hitting the post on that free kick at the edge of the box was 10 inches away from being a goal, hopefully they can neutralize it in the 2nd half.

 

[Red Raider]

I think Japan has outplayed Turkey and feel they can get at least one goal in the 2nd.

Took a live bet a pinnacle for a draw at +260 for 1/2 my Japan wager. Now A tie or Japan win puts me up.

GO Japan!!

good luck guys

 

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Nice call Mark,

As for Japan, they just couldn't start an aerial attack on teh Turks due to their lacking of height. Congrats to those who took the Turks.

Who ever would have thought of a Turkey vs Senegal match in the round of 8?


:shrug: :nono: