Turkey’s streets become a noisy sea of red and white as the Turkish team continue their march towards the coveted World Cup.
After a muddled to the match, where both sides crowded the midfield in a tussling bunch, it was Turkey that brought order from chaos when Umit Davala rose to meet an Ergun Pembe corner, nodding the ball in from the edge of the box.
Though a great triumph for the Turkish team, it was by no means a great game with midfield star Hasan Sas, obviously still troubled by a back injury picked up when playing against China, unable to stamp his usual authority on the match. Nor did captain and main striker Hakan Sükür do anything to dispel the cloud of criticism that has been building above him for failing to find the net. Reported to be carrying a leg injury into the game, he was slow and rarely first to the ball.
The good news for a Turkey that will face Senegal in its next match is that Keeper Recber Rüstü came through unscathed, having limped his way through much of the game against Costa Rica and having to be replaced in the match versus China.
Japan failed to reproduce the crisp running and passing game that it had displayed against previous opponents, not coming to grips with either the wet conditions or the physical play of the Turks.