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September 3, 2010 4:00 PM BST
September 3, 2010 4:00 PM BST
Euro 2012 Qualifying Preview: Kazakhstan - Turkey
Looking to regain their status as one of the nations to be feared in Europe, the Crescent Stars travel to face an awkward opponent this weekend...
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By Robin Bairner
Turkey Test
Seeded fifth in European Championship 2012 qualifying, Kazakhstan cannot realistically boast any hope of qualifying for the main event, though they will hope to at least prove competitive against some of the bigger nations in their group. Turkey provide their first test, which is scheduled for Friday.
History suggests the visitors should have things rather easy, and it is the job of home coach Bernd Storck, a German, to ensure there is no repeat of the heavy losses sustained when the nations met in World Cup 2006 qualifying – the only two occasions the countries have previously met. In Istanbul, the Turks ran out 4-0 winners, and the scoreline was even more severe in Almaty, where they cruised to a 6-0 success.
Tobol Kostanay are presently the leaders of the domestic league, yet they only contribute three players to the national side, with many of the best Kazaks to be found at Lokomotiv Astana or in Russia. Those Tobol players have experience of Turkish opposition, having faced Galatasaray in the Champions League qualifiers last season, going down 3-1 on aggregate after picking up a home draw.
Ranked 126th in the world by FIFA, there is little realistic chance of the hosts picking up a win, but they’ll be looking to take advantage of a new-look Turkey set-up to at least battle for a famous draw.
Aiming For Consistency
Nearly a decade ago, Turkey were shocking the world as they charged to third in World Cup 2002. On the brink of becoming an established force in the game, it’s not been especially easy sailing for the Crescent Stars since then. Failure to reach Euro 2004 was a bitter blow, and they have also missed out on both World Cups since their zenith, though a semi-final berth in Euro 2008 offered some consolation.
After ten years of peaks and troughs, Guus Hiddink, whose South Korea side Turkey ironically beat to claim bronze in 2002, is the man chosen by the country’s FA to stabilise the national side. Boasting a terrific track record on the international front, the Dutchman’s aim must be to ensure the Crescent Stars reach and enjoy success in Euro 2012 before laying the foundation for a sustained era of prosperity.
By no means should qualification to Ukraine and Poland be considered a given. Germany are heavy favourites to claim the top prize after their wonderful World Cup campaign, while Austria and Belgium have both shown themselves to be dangerous opponents in recent times.
Trips like Friday’s to Kazakhstan therefore cannot be allowed to slide without maximum points being grasped, especially since there is a trip to Germany coming up in October before a journey to Azerbaijan.
Only once before has Hiddink had the opportunity to put his side through their paces against foreign opponents. In August, Romania were defeated 2-0 in Istanbul, though late strikes from Emre Belozoglu and Arda Turan were required to see off fairly modest opposition.
Substance is more important than style at this point of the campaign, and Turkey will be unconcerned if they can only limp to three points.
Seeded fifth in European Championship 2012 qualifying, Kazakhstan cannot realistically boast any hope of qualifying for the main event, though they will hope to at least prove competitive against some of the bigger nations in their group. Turkey provide their first test, which is scheduled for Friday.
History suggests the visitors should have things rather easy, and it is the job of home coach Bernd Storck, a German, to ensure there is no repeat of the heavy losses sustained when the nations met in World Cup 2006 qualifying – the only two occasions the countries have previously met. In Istanbul, the Turks ran out 4-0 winners, and the scoreline was even more severe in Almaty, where they cruised to a 6-0 success.
Tobol Kostanay are presently the leaders of the domestic league, yet they only contribute three players to the national side, with many of the best Kazaks to be found at Lokomotiv Astana or in Russia. Those Tobol players have experience of Turkish opposition, having faced Galatasaray in the Champions League qualifiers last season, going down 3-1 on aggregate after picking up a home draw.
Ranked 126th in the world by FIFA, there is little realistic chance of the hosts picking up a win, but they’ll be looking to take advantage of a new-look Turkey set-up to at least battle for a famous draw.
Aiming For Consistency
Nearly a decade ago, Turkey were shocking the world as they charged to third in World Cup 2002. On the brink of becoming an established force in the game, it’s not been especially easy sailing for the Crescent Stars since then. Failure to reach Euro 2004 was a bitter blow, and they have also missed out on both World Cups since their zenith, though a semi-final berth in Euro 2008 offered some consolation.
After ten years of peaks and troughs, Guus Hiddink, whose South Korea side Turkey ironically beat to claim bronze in 2002, is the man chosen by the country’s FA to stabilise the national side. Boasting a terrific track record on the international front, the Dutchman’s aim must be to ensure the Crescent Stars reach and enjoy success in Euro 2012 before laying the foundation for a sustained era of prosperity.
By no means should qualification to Ukraine and Poland be considered a given. Germany are heavy favourites to claim the top prize after their wonderful World Cup campaign, while Austria and Belgium have both shown themselves to be dangerous opponents in recent times.
Trips like Friday’s to Kazakhstan therefore cannot be allowed to slide without maximum points being grasped, especially since there is a trip to Germany coming up in October before a journey to Azerbaijan.
Only once before has Hiddink had the opportunity to put his side through their paces against foreign opponents. In August, Romania were defeated 2-0 in Istanbul, though late strikes from Emre Belozoglu and Arda Turan were required to see off fairly modest opposition.
Substance is more important than style at this point of the campaign, and Turkey will be unconcerned if they can only limp to three points.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Kazakhstan 0-2 Turkey
- 25.11 %
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Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
- 22.91 %
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Kazakhstan 0-0 Turkey
- 10.13 %
| Euro 2012 (EC) | Sep 2, 2011 | Turkey 2 - Kazakhstan 1 |
|
| Euro 2012 (EC) | Sep 3, 2010 | Kazakhstan 0 - Turkey 3 |
|
Kazakhstan
    |
||
| Oct 11, 2011 | Kazakhstan 0 - Austria 0 | EC |
| Oct 7, 2011 | Belgium 4 - Kazakhstan 1 | EC |
| Sep 6, 2011 | Azerbaijan 3 - Kazakhstan 2 | EC |
| Sep 2, 2011 | Turkey 2 - Kazakhstan 1 | EC |
| Jun 3, 2011 | Kazakhstan 2 - Azerbaijan 1 | EC |
Turkey
 |
||
| Nov 15, 2011 | Croatia 0 - Turkey 0 | EC |
| Nov 11, 2011 | Turkey 0 - Croatia 3 | EC |
| Oct 11, 2011 | Turkey 1 - Azerbaijan 0 | EC |
| Oct 7, 2011 | Turkey 1 - Germany 3 | EC |
| Sep 6, 2011 | Austria 0 - Turkey 0 | EC |
|
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| 1 | Andrey Sidelnikov | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Aleksandr Kirov | Defender |
| - | Egor Azovskiy | |
| - | Renat Abdulin | |
| - | Aleksei Popov | |
| 13 | Azat Nurgaliyev | Midfielder |
| - | Aleksandr Kislitsyn | |
| - | Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev | |
| 15 | Heinrich Schmidtgal | Midfielder |
| 6 | Andrei Karpovich | Midfielder |
| 9 | Sergei Ostapenko | Striker |
| - | Onur Kıvrak | |
| - | Hakan Balta | Defender |
| - | Ömer Erdoğan | |
| - | Servet Çetin | Defender |
| - | Sabri Sarıoğlu | Defender |
| - | Arda Turan | Midfielder |
| - | Emre Belözoğlu | Midfielder |
| - | Aurelio | Midfielder |
| - | Hamit Altintop | Midfielder |
| - | Tuncay Şanlı | |
| - | Nihat Kahveci |
1 
3 
0 
0 
0 
13 
0 
0 
15 
6 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
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