China was sent packing and Turkey moved into the second round of the World Cup for the first time yesterday in Seoul.
Turkey showed up China's inexperience at the highest level of the game, winning handsomely 3-0 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
PHOTO: AFP
An outstanding Hasan Sas provided the spark for Turkey, scoring the first goal after just six minutes and setting up Bulent Korkmaz for the second. He was also the provider for Umit Davala's exceptional strike in the second half.
Though well-drilled by coach Bora Milutinovic, China did not have the nous or ability to seriously challenge the European team.
With three games and three losses, no goals scored and nine against, China came second to last in the competition behind Saudi Arabia.
Defender Li Weifeng was apologetic after the defeat and first-round exit.
"I am sorry and I feel bad. Many fans came out to support us," he said. "But while we lost, we tried our best too."
Milutinovic said, "When you lose a game it's difficult to excuse everything, but I think this is the difference when you play for the first time ever in the World Cup. Small details make a big difference."
Turkey's coach Senol Gunes said, "We played hard in all the matches we played. The victory places us in the round of 16 and we feel relaxed. We managed to improve our game after we lost to Brazil."
At the start of the match, Turkey needed Costa Rica to lose against Brazil and three points from the game with China to advance and attacked from the beginning.
Sas caused problems for China's defense from the start, running on to a through ball and drawing a foul in the first minute. Then, he took advantage of a mix-up between two Chinese defenders who gifted him the ball 25m out. Sas said thank you and slammed the ball into the net for the opening goal.
Just three minutes later it was Sas again who put in a long ball to the far post. Li Xiaopeng tried to head away but the ball fell to Bulent Korkmaz, whose header looped over Jiang Jin in China's goal. Though Turkey's captain, Hakan Sukur, tried to claim the goal with another header, the ball had already crossed the line.
It was not all one-way traffic, however, and China pushed as hard as it could for its first World Cup goal, urged on by a large contingent of Chinese fans in the 43,605 crowd.
Striker Hao Haidong made it to the byline on the left and managed to get in a shot, but it was short of power and Rustu Recber easily collected.
Then Hao turned provider, slipping a ball across the face of the box which was met by Yang Chen. His shot ricocheted off the right post. It was the closest China would get to a breakthrough first goal in its first World Cup Finals appearance.
Sas started the second half as he began the first, on the offensive. He managed to find some space and took a shot from just outside the penalty area, but Jin stretched at full length toward the top left-hand corner to save well.
China riposted with some hopeful looking crosses, but substitute goalie Omer Catkic was up to the task and foiled "the Reds" with a series of stops.
China's Shao Jiayi, who was put on at halftime, enjoyed just 12 minutes of World Cup action when he was sent off for going in with his studs on Turkey's Emre Belozoglu.
Even so, China kept to its task with 10 men, looking for the goal, just one, to bring back home.
Sas blotted his record with a booking on 81 minutes, but then made up for it with another raid down the left wing. Umit Davala met the cross first time and drilled the ball home for his second goal of the tournament.
Sukur was given a golden opportunity to cap a great day for himself and his team on the day he broke Turkey's appearance record, but shot wide from 2m out, though his back was against the goal.
But it did not matter. When the final whistle blew there were the familiar scenes of hugging and jubilation from the Turkish bench and assorted officials.
A weary Chinese team took the opportunity to thank their fans and then trooped off the field, bowed but not broken.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS