COMEBACK KIDS DOES IT AGAIN...Turkey defeats Croatia in shootout, 3 -1Having watched this team come from behind for the third time at the European Championship, Turkey coach Fatih Terim is hoping Wednesday's semifinal match against Germany will be less dramatic but just as successful.
Semih Senturk scored a 120th-minute equalizer Friday for a 1-1 draw after extra time. One minute earlier, Ivan Klasnic gave Croatia the lead at Ernst Happel Stadium.
Goalkeeper Rustu Recber then saved Mladen Petric's spot kick for the Turks to win the ensuing penalty shootout 3-1 and complete their third rallying victory at Euro 2008. Turkey had come from behind to beat Switzerland 2-1 and then scored two goals in the final three minutes to beat the Czech Republic 3-2.
"We seem to always come back — we do it the hard way and never the easy it, and that shows just how good a team we are," Turkey coach Fatih Terim said. "We always come back and that's not easy to do. Let's hope that we can take the lead against Germany.
FATIH TERIM: "I NEVER GIVE UP""I tell my players never to give up. I tell them that they shouldn't be afraid of losing or conceding goals. This is football. You should never give up until the referee blows the final whistle."Terim only had 15 players from 23 to choose from due to injuries and suspension, and he will be without three more — Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik — after they picked up yellow cards to be banned for Wednesday's match in Basel, Switzerland.
"For us, it's important that we rest and then we will analyze Germany with our coach," Turkey midfielder Hamit Altintop said. "The team has shown it's important to believe in ourselves and our coach. If we do that, there's no reason we can't still go far."
Arda, Semih and Altintop scored for Turkey in the shootout. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic also missed for Croatia, while Darijo Srna scored the team's only penalty.
After a scoreless 90 minutes of regulation time, Klasnic gave Croatia the lead with a header in 119th minute. The first player to ever take part at the European Championship after a kidney transplant headed in Modric's cross from close range only 22 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
But before the Croatian fans had stopped celebrating with time almost up, Recber sent a long clearance into Croatia's box and the ball dropped to Semih, whose left-footed shot deflected off defender Robert Kovac and went into the top corner of the net with goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa rooted to the ground.
"It seemed like the match was over, then to concede a goal, then go on to penalties, gave a psychological advantage to the Turks," Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said. "This certainly isn't going to be easy to forget. Not only will we not forget this, this will haunt me for the rest of my life."We will probably weep for a few days, but such is life. We will be back."Altintop said he didn't have any time to worry about losing after Klasnic scored.
"We would have time to weep after the referee had blown the final whistle, so we had to play without fear," the midfielder said. "In football, emotions often don't have time to come into it."In a low quality match marked by defensive caution, a depleted Turkish team restricted Croatia to few opportunities by pressing in midfield and not allowing its opponent time on the ball.Srna threaded a pass behind the defense and Modric's low, sweeping cross was thundered against the crossbar by Ivica Olic from inside the box, and Niko Kranjcar's follow-up header went wide in the 19th minute. But both teams were too often guilty of taking the wrong option in the final third of the field.
Recber, playing for the suspended Volkan Demirel, preserved the scoreline in regulation time when he made an amazing one-handed save from a free kick by Srna in the 83rd. Recber was also the goalkeeper that helped Turkey reach the 2002 World Cup semifinals, where the team lost to eventual champion Brazil.
Lineups:
Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa, Vedran Corluka, Josip Simunic, Robert Kovac, Danijel Pranjic, Darijo Srna, Niko Kovac, Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Niko Kranjcar (Mladen Petric, 64), Ivica Olic (Ivan Klasnic, 97).
Turkey: Rustu Recber, Hamit Altintop, Gokhan Zan, Emre Asik, Hakan Balta, Mehmet Topal (Semih Senturk, 76), Sabri Sarioglu, Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan, Kazim Kazim (Ugur Boral, 61), Nihat Kahveci (Gokdeniz Karadeniz, 116).
