EURO 2008 Preview: Croatia vs. Turkey

Croatia and Turkey are vying for a first-ever semi-final berth when they meet at Ernst Happel on Friday.<br>

كتب : Omar AbdelAziz

الجمعة، 20 يونيو 2008 - 12:25
Olic
Croatia and Turkey are vying for a first-ever semi-final berth when they meet at Ernst Happel on Friday.

The Turks are boosted by their remarkable victory 3-2 over Czech Republic, whilst Croatia amassed maximum points from Group B.

Turkey are haunted by injuries and suspensions though, but their manager refused to take that as an excuse.

Head-to-head:

Croatia win: 1

Turkey win: 0

Draw: 2

Croatia

"We're not complacent and we won't stop. It's our intention to go as far as possible," said Slaven Bilic.

"Of course we're under pressure and the pressure's rising, but it's a positive pressure. We welcome it. It can only motivate us more and make us play better."

Team News: Igor Budan and Dario Knezevic will miss the rest of the competition with knee injuries, but Ivan Rakitic and Dario Srna should recover from knocks.

Bilic will reinstate the side which beat Germany and Austria in the group stage, but Ivan Klasnic could be used as a substitute.

Probable Line-up: Pletikosa- Pranjic, Corluka, R.Kovac, Simunic- N.Kovac, Srna, Kranjcar, Modric, Rakitic-Olic.

Turkey

"We have 15 footballers, two goalkeepers and we can make three substitutions. That is what we have," said Fatih Terim.

"But we have no excuses. It doesn't matter who plays at the back, in midfield or up front.

"What's important is how the players perform, not their names. All our injured players are important to us, but their replacements can do a good job."

Team News: Turkey have more than their fair share of injuries, with Emre Belozoglu, Tumer Metin, Emre Gungor and Servet Cetin all set to miss out.

Apart from that, first-choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and key midfielder Mehmet Aurelio are suspended.

Probable Line-up: Rustu- Balta, Zan, Asik- Altintop, Topal, Arda, Kazim- Tuncay, Semih, Nihat.