Friday November 11, 2011 Play-offs Finished Türk Telekom Arena

Turkey 0 - 3 Croatia

  • Olic 2’
  • Mandžukic 32’
  • Corluka 51’

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  1. Croatia thump Turkey in first leg

    Croatia thump Turkey in first leg

    Croatia have one foot in the 2012 European Championship finals after destroying a toothless Turkey 3-0 in their play-off first leg. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Turkey
    • Croatia
    • FT The referee blows up for full-time and Croatia have one foot in the European Championship finals after a routine victory in Istanbul.
    • 90' There will be two minutes of added time.
    • 89' CROATIA SUB: The visitors make their final sub, with Eduardo coming on for Mandzukic.
    • 88' Sabri plays in a cross but there's just one man in the box - and the ball flies over his head. That sums up Turkey's night.
    • 87' Turan is the fourth Turkish player to go into the referee's book after kicking the ball at Modric after the whistle had gone. That's very poor discipline.
    • 86' That change will provide Croatia with a target man for the final few minutes. Not that they are in any danger of conceding.
    • 85' CROATIA SUB: Goalscorer Olic makes way for Rangers striker Jelavic.
    • 83' CROATIA SUB: Rakitic is replaced by Pranjic.
    • 82' Turkey corner. Sarioglu delivers but Simunic rises to head clear.
    • 81' TURKEY SUB: Turkey make their final change with Bulut coming on for Yilmaz.
    • 80' Turkey fail to clear a corner and Olic fires over unmarked! The Croatia player probably had more time to pick his spot than he thought!
    • 78' Sarioglu goes through the back of Mandzukic with a completely unnecessary challenge. Will he be shown a second yellow?! No, the referee's spared the Turkey attacker.
    • 77' Modric looks to curl one in the far corner from 25 yards but Demirel is on hand to make a comfortable save.
    • 75' Burak's corner is half-cleared before Pletikosa rises to comfortably collect the subsequent cross back in. Turkey will need to do a lot better than that if they're to grab a goal back.
    • 74' I have to say, the referee - Felix Brych from Germany - has been excellent tonight.
    • 73' Sabri is rightly booked for his over-reaction. Corluka's challenge wasn't worth a yellow card, which is just as well as the Tottenham player was booked in the first half.
    • 72' Corluka catches Sabri, who reacts badly. Handbags!
    • 71' Olic slides through the back of Sarioglu, scraping his studs down the back of the Turkey player's leg, and is rightly booked.
    • 70' TURKEY SUB: Topal comes on for Inan.
    • 69' Superb defensive work frmo Simunic to shield the ball out for a goal-kick.
    • 68' Croatia have had 12 shots at goal, with seven going on target. Turkey have registered two shots, testing Pletikosa on neither occassion.
    • 66' Turkey captain Belozoglu is booked for a foul on Srna. Turkey are beginning to lose their discipline.
    • 65' Srna whips in another fierce free-kick which is flicked towards goal by Simunic but Demirel is quickly down to save.
    • 64' Balta is booked for clipping Srna's heels. That look a little harsh.
    • 63' Tore steals the ball from Srna on the right wing but fouls the Croat in the process.
    • 62' Olic is fouled and needs a minute to get back to hit feet. Croatia free-kick on the halfway line.
    • 59' Tore wriggles free on the left but sees his cross blocked and Simunic clears the loose ball.
    • 58' As was the case in the first half, Croatia are happy to sit deep and let Turkey have the ball.
    • 57' Ireland are 1-0 up against Estonia courtesy of Andrews' striker. Estonia v Republic of Ireland: LIVE
    • 56' That was only Corluka's second goal for Croatia.
    • 55' Turkey corner. Altintop whips it in but the referee blows up for a foul in the box. Croatia free-kick.
    • 54' Arda gets to the byline and fires in a low cross which is spilt by Pletikosa but a Croatia defender is there to hack clear.
    • 53' Where was the Turkey defence?! Corluka was in acres of space!
    • 52' GOAL! Croatia go three up! Srna delivers a peach of a cross and Corluka, who is completely unmarked, heads home!
    • 51' Srna is pulled down on the right wing. Croatia free-kick in a dangerous position.
    • 50' Simunic clears the lines with a strong defensive header.
    • 49' Olic fouls to give Turkey a free-kick deep in their own half.
    • 48' Here's a stat for you. Croatia haven't lost a competitive home international for 17 years! Looks like Turkey need goals in this second half if they have any chance of progressing...
    • 47' TURKEY SUB: Gonul was replaced by Tore at the break.
    • 46' The second half is underway...
    • HT The referee blows up for half-time and Turkey have a mountain to climb if they're to rescue this tie in the second half.
    • 44' Olic shoots but sees his shot saved by Demirel.
    • 43' The home fans started the game in fine voice but are becoming increasingly frustrated - and you can't blame them.
    • 42' Mandzukic misjudges his run and is offside.
    • 41' Dujmovic soon fouls again and earns a yellow card for his troubles.
    • 40' Dujmovic fouls Selcuk to give Turkey a free-kick.
    • 39' Turkey have enjoyed more possession but, in truth, have posed little threat going forward. Their defence, on the other hand, looks very shakey.
    • 38' Turkey corner. Turan delivers but its cleared by Croatia.
    • 36' Olic latches on to a cross in the box but his shot is a weak one and Demirel saves.
    • 35' Is that Turkey's Euro 2012 dream over?
    • 34' Corluka is shown the first yellow card of the game.
    • 33' The Turks are all over the shop defensively!
    • 32' GOAL! Mandzukic doubles Croatia's advantage after being found by Srna!
    • 30' Demirel makes a smart save to keep Croatia at bay.
    • 29' Kranjcar is Croatia’s top scorer in Euro 2012 qualifying with four goals to his name.
    • 28' Slaven Bilis cuts a nervous on the touchline and has been warned by the referee and linesman about his conduct.
    • 26' Yilmaz drifts into an offside position.
    • 25' Turkey are enjoying more of the ball, having had 60% of possession so far, but they're yet to test Croatia keeper Pletikosa.
    • 24' Inan lines up a shot but misses the target.
    • 23' Croatia are happy to sit deep and soak up the pressure.
    • 22' Guus Hiddink is attempting to become only the second head coach to feature in three different European Championships. The record is held by Sweden’s Lars Lagerback, who led his troops in 2000, 2004 and 2008
    • 20' Croatia earn some respite after Altintop fouls Srna.
    • 19' Croatia goalkeeper Pletikosa rises to punch Turan's cross clear.
    • 18' Mandzukic fouls Belozoglu to give Turkey a free-kick.
    • 17' The lino's flag is quickly up after Yilmaz strays offside.
    • 15' Turkey have found their feet and are putting the visitors under prolonged pressure, with Belozoglu found in space on the right side of the box, before Croatia scramble clear.
    • 14' The prevous record was held by Mladen Mladenovic, who scored in the third minute on September 3 1995, when Croatia beat Estonia 7-1.
    • 13' Olic's second minute goal was the fastest ever by Croatia in all European qualification matches.
    • 12' Ireland travel to Estonia for the first leg of their play-off clash. Follow the build-up to that tie here.
    • 11' Corluka does well on the left before finding Tottenham team-mate Modric, but he's too far out to shoot and the midfielder is eventually dispossessed.
    • 10' Turan tries to pick up a long ball down the left but can't get there.
    • 9' Turkey break through Yılmaz but the striker is muscled off the ball by Schildenfeld.
    • 8' Turkey have contested play-offs for four major tournaments, with the last outing a 4-2, 0-2 defeat to Switzerland for a place at World Cup 2006.
    • 7' That early goal hasn't stopped the Turkey fans making a racket - but the pressure is on their side now!
    • 6' How will Turkey respond to that early blow? Croatia's Dujmovic fouls to hand the hosts a free-kick.
    • 5' Inan hands Croatia a free-kick after fouling Srna, who takes the free-kick and finds Mandzukic... he lines up a shot but it's wide of the target.
    • 4' What a start for Slaven Bilic's side!
    • 2' GOAL! Croatia lead already through Olic!
    • 2' The atmosphere at the Tuk Telekom Arena is electric - the Turks are up for this!
    • 1' And we're off!
    • 19:00 Eduardo, who has scored three of Croatia’s last four goals in the current qualifying campaign, has scored 13 goals in Euro qualifiers. Davor Suker is Croatia’s top scorer in the competition with 16 goals. Arda Turan is Turkey’s top scorer in Euro 2012 qualifying with four goals.
    • 18:55 Both sides have previously qualified for the European Championships on three occassions. Turkey in 1996, 2000 and 2008 and Croatia in 1996, 2004 and 2008.
    • 18:50 Turkey only scored 13 goals on their way to finishing second in Group A, but also conceded just 11 and Guus Hiddink insists his side must keep it tight at the back if they're to keep Croatia at bay: "Not conceding a goal is a major priority for us," he said. "Therefore it's important to cut the passing traffic. It's very hard to predict the score in such games."
    • 18:45 Scotland are currently in action against Cyprus and Craig Levein's side lead 1-0 thanks to Kenny Miller's 24th minute goal.
    • 18:40 TURKEY: Demirel, Gonul, Kacar, Korkmaz, Balta, Sarioglu, Inan, Belozoglu, Hamit Altintop, Yilmaz, Turan... Subs: Bolat, Bulut, Erkin, Tore, Topal, Toprak, Sahin /// Croatia: Pletikosa, Corluka, Schildenfeld, Simunic, Vida, Srna, Dujmovic, Rakitic, Modric, Olic, Mandzukic... Subs: Subasic, Buljat, Pranjic, Vukojevic, Jelavic, Perisic, Eduardo
    • 18:35 The last time these two met was in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008, when Turkey's Semih Senturk scored in the 122nd minute to take the game to penalties, where Croatia’s Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mladen Petric all missed from the spot to hand Turkey victory.
    • 18:30 Kick-off is at 19:05 (UK time). We'll bring you the team news as soon as we have it.
    • 18:25 Turkey finished second in Group A, albeit 13 points behind runaway leaders Germany, to reach the play-offs, while Croatia were edged out by Greece in Group F.
    • 18:20 Welcome to LIVE text commentary of the European Championship qualifying play-off first leg between Turkey and Croatia at the Turk Telekom Arena.

  • Summary

    • 80' Turkey fail to clear a corner and Olic fires over unmarked! The Croatia player probably had more time to pick his spot than he thought!
    • 65' Srna whips in another fierce free-kick which is flicked towards goal by Simunic but Demirel is quickly down to save.
    • 54' Arda gets to the byline and fires in a low cross which is spilt by Pletikosa but a Croatia defender is there to hack clear.
    • 52' GOAL! Croatia go three up! Srna delivers a peach of a cross and Corluka, who is completely unmarked, heads home!
    • 44' Olic shoots but sees his shot saved by Demirel.
    • 36' Olic latches on to a cross in the box but his shot is a weak one and Demirel saves.
    • 32' GOAL! Mandzukic doubles Croatia's advantage after being found by Srna!
    • 2' GOAL! Croatia lead already through Olic!
    • 18:40 TURKEY: Demirel, Gonul, Kacar, Korkmaz, Balta, Sarioglu, Inan, Belozoglu, Hamit Altintop, Yilmaz, Turan... Subs: Bolat, Bulut, Erkin, Tore, Topal, Toprak, Sahin /// Croatia: Pletikosa, Corluka, Schildenfeld, Simunic, Vida, Srna, Dujmovic, Rakitic, Modric, Olic, Mandzukic... Subs: Subasic, Buljat, Pranjic, Vukojevic, Jelavic, Perisic, Eduardo

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      2.6 -
      Defenders
      Substitution Out45′ 2 -
      2 -
      2.3 -
      Yellow Card 2.5 -
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out69′ 2.7 -
      Yellow Card 2.4 -
      Yellow Card 2.9 -
      Strikers
      2.7 -
      Yellow Card 2.8 -
      Substitution Out81′ 2.3 -
      Subs
      Substitution In81′ 3.5 -
      Substitution In69′ 3.8 -
      Substitution In45′ 4.2 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      8.5 -
      Defenders
      Goal Yellow Card 9 -
      8.7 -
      8.1 -
      8 -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card 8.7 -
      Substitution Out83′ 8.8 -
      9.1 -
      9.3 -
      Strikers
      Goal Yellow Card Substitution Out85′ 9.1 -
      Goal Substitution Out90′ 9.2 -
      Subs
      Substitution In83′ 7.8 -
      Substitution In90′ 8.4 -
      Substitution In85′ 9.1 -

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