Source: Xinhua
06-20-2008 16:46
Special Report: 2008 European ChampionshipsCroatia coach Slaven Bilic seeks to grasp their strong chance of booking a Euro 2008 semifinal place here on Friday when facing troubled Turkey packing with injuries and suspensions.
"We will do everything to beat Turkey. We have the strength and the quality to do it," said the confident boss.
It's the contrary though for the Turks, however.
"Croatia is a good team, they beat Germany, but we are a good team, too, and we will get better as each day passes," said Turkey coach Fatih Terim.
UEFA has Wednesday handed a two-game ban to Turkey's first choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel for his dangerous foul in a Group A match against the Czech Republic, which imposed extra pressure on the comeback kings after nine of their players with injuries ahead of the Croatian quarterfinal.
Volkan, 26, was sent off after knocking down Czech striker Jan Koller in the final minute of Turkey's dramatic 3-2 victory in Geneva on Sunday, and will now miss his side's knockout against Group B winners Croatia, according to the European soccer governing body's disciplinary committee.
His Turkey team has also been fined 44,000 Swiss Franc (about 27,190 euros) for "the improper conduct of its supporters, players and officials", an appeal lodged by the Turkish FA has not yet set on date.
To make things worse, Turkey added one more to its already long list of injured and suspended players Monday as defender Emre Gungor has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2008 with a calf injury.
Gungor sustained the injury in Turkey's heroic 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday. The 23-year-old Galatasaray defender was taken off after 63 minutes at the Stade de Geneve.
The newest blow meant the Turkish team will be without nine players in Croatia match as midfielder Mehmet Aurelio, Tumer Metin, Servet Cetin, as well as captain Emre Belozoglu are all in doubt.
Turkey had made impressive comebacks in the group stage, first rallying to beat Switzerland 2-1 and then scoring a pair of late goal in final minutes to beat the Czech for the quarters. It did not worry Bilic, however.
"The way they managed the comebacks in those games was impressive," he told media. "But, the way they trailed in those games also tells us something. Their strength is obviously somewhere in between."
The Croats have a three-match winning streak at Euro 2008. They beat Austria 1-0 and downed three-time champions Germany 2-1 before win over Poland 1-0 with a second-string team to reach the quarters.
Also their first team have had a decent rest since the clash against Germany.
Historically, the Croats hold an advantage, too, with a 1-0 victory over Turkey in their Euro 1996 opener in England, where the latter finished the tournament without scoring a goal.
Both teams have reached the World Cup semifinals in the past, but neither has gotten that far at the continental competition.
Editor:Zhang Ning
