Quote:
Originally Posted by RedKnight
Gutted Croatia went out as they were the only ones trying to win for most of the game. Why do I have a feeling that Turkey may knock the Germans out now?
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The Croats really missed the boat in the 1st half. You could see that the Turkish back 4 - without Servet and Aurelio covering for them in midfield - were looking vulnerable. And with a new, err old, goalie behind them, there seemed to be a lack of understanding. A couple of times, there was dithering when the ball was played behind the back 4, in front of the keeper. Almost lead to a goal.
The Turks played themselves back in the 2nd half, but were holding out by the end. But in extra time, they went up a couple of gears. Complete reversal. I don't know what Tuncay took after full time, but his bursting runs into the box in the first period nearly won it for the Turks.
All in all, I reckon it was about 60-40 in favour of Croatia - but they will be kicking themselves for not taking the advantage in the first half (hindsight, and all that).
Re: the Germans. You know, with the injuries and squad depletion that the Turks now have, they would have no chance against the fast counter attacking of, say, the Dutch. But against Germany? Who knows? The players on both sides will know each other very well, and Turkey seems to be the one team (so far) that can out-German the Germans. Defensively, Turkey will be stronger with Servet and Aurelio back. Its in attack that they will be hamstrung (no Arda or Tuncay).
That said, the poorhouse is full of schmucks who bet against the Germans .....
Screw it, I'm going with my previous scenario. Rustu to score in the 120th.
