Turkey vs. Croatia

Turkey vs. Croatia (1-1, Klasnic, 119′, Semih Senturk, 120+)
Turkey wins 3-1 on Penalty Kicks.

What an unbelievable match.  It’s tough to convey to others why I feel so passionate about this match, but here it goes.  First of all, the Croatians were with their top lineup, the one that demolished everyone in group competition (including embarrassing Germany), while the Turks were without their starting GK, starting back 4, starting midfielder and captain, and starting forward.  They had 15 eligible players – 13 outfield players and 2 goalkeepers.  That’s it!  And you know what?  They hung in there with the high powered Croats.  Of course, the Croatians were still missing Eduardo da Silva from that bone-crunching tackle, but they still were firing on all cylinders heading into the match.  But also, if one thing was certain, it was this – the Turks never give up.  Well, the match went back and forth for awhile, until Luka Modric was able to maneuver his way into the box in the first half, passed it to the feet of Ivica Olic, who blatantly put it right into the crossbar.  The follow-up attempt by Niko Krancjar went nowhere, a major opportunity missed by the Croatians.  There were other chances by Olic created by his unbelievable work rate, including an opportunity with a 50/50 ball he had beaten Rustu Recber to, but turned out to be a little bit of nothing.  Finally, when everyone realized the match was going nowhere, changes needed to be made.  Most importantly, the Croatians brought on two more strikers, Ivan Klasnic and Dortmund striker Mladen Petric, while the Turks also went the attacking mode, bringing on Semih Senturk and Ugor Boral, the leading scorer in the Turkish league last season.  Even as the match stalled to a snail-like pace in the extra frame, the substitutions both resulted in goals.  On a misjudged ball by goalkeeper Recber, he ran out and attempted to punch it away, but was left sprawled, and when Modric headed the ball back to the head of Klasnic, it was an easy 1-0 lead.  This, mind you was in the 119th minute, around 10 seconds from the end of extra time.  The Turks kicked off and attacked, and the Croats went on the counter, only to be caught offsides.  Recber stepped up quickly and fired it downfield, getting it to Senturk, who turned his opponent and fired a goal past Stipe Pletikosa for a 1-1 equalizer.  It was one of the most ridiculous goals you’ll ever see, especially considering the consequences and everything else, and the fact the Turks have been the only team to come back from a defecit, and they’ve done it THREE SEPARATE TIMES!  Insane.  The penalty shootout was a blur, as Recber stepped up and saved a shot by Petric, while Modric and Klasnic both missed their chances wide (one right, one left).  The Turks destroyed all their shots, and won the match in absolutely amazing fashion.  By far, the match of the tournament, and one of my favorite matches ever.

Goalkeepers - Rustu Recber had a weird match.  You have to remember, he was the goalkeeper that led Turkey to third place in World Cup 2002, earned a huge transfer to Barcelona, but played in only four competitive matches before going back to Turkey.  He started out strong, had some lapses, then made a ridiculous save on a Darijo Srna free kick right near the end of regulation to keep it even.  Even though his walkabout led to the Croat’s first goal, he got retribution not only by assisting Senturk’s goal, but also keeping out three penalty kicks.  Luckily, two were wide, but still, he was a presence.  What can I say for Pletikosa?  He had no work throughout the match, then his defense let him down, and he couldn’t save the penalty kicks.  Not his fault.  To me, he’s still been the best in the tournament, only behind Gianluigi Buffon.
Defenders – Pranjic is no longer an unknown commodity, and thus, he was limited on the left by Altintop.  Corluka attacked instead from the right, but his crosses didn’t have the quality Pranjic’s did in the first three matches.  Simunic and Kovac were alright at the back, but were at fault for the equalizer.  The makeshift Turkish defense was less than stellar.  If referee Roberto Rosetti had seen him tugging on Corluka’s shirt numerous times during set pieces, he would’ve not only given up a penalty, but might also have been sent off.  Altintop had another fabulous match.  He’s been the rock in the Turkish lineup ever since Emre went out with an injury.
Midfielders – Luka Modric finally broke out today and had the match I’ve been looking for out of him since the tournament started.  He was creative, he ran the midfield, he passed well, specifically setting up Olic for two easy chances, both of which he blew.  Rakitic and Srna also played well in the midfield.  No complains about the Croats.  Arda Turan was decent, but huge props go to my man Tuncay.  He had another match where his work rate was absolutely incredible and despite not hitting the mark on any of his shots, he still was able to set up his teammates numerous times.  He’s been one of my favorites to watch this entire tournament.
Attackers – Nihat is such an unconventional striker.  He’s short, he’s not that strong, and he plays by himself up front.  He needs someone to play off him effectively for the Turkish offense to work, and today, they stuck Kazim Kazim (formerly Colin Kazim-Richards) next to him in attack.  As the match started, they seemed to be partnered up front, but as the match went on, Kazim dropped back to play behind Nihat, and when he wasn’t getting the touches, he was subbed out for Semih Senturk.  Senturk got the equalizer – that’s all I really need to say about him.  Meanwhile, I won’t deny Ivica Olic’s unbelievable workrate on the pitch, but him and Krancjar really didn’t get it done today.  Olic had two golden chances and he botched them both, and Krancjar had a chance to follow up Olic’s miss that hit the crossbar, but didn’t hit the mark on his header.  He really never made himself a part of the match, and that’s too bad because it cost the Croatians.  Mladen Petric and Ivan Klasnic were both much better offensively, but it was a little too late.

Man of the Match – Semih Senturk.  If I could, I’d give it to the entire Turkish squad.  They were playing with only 15 active players (that’s a full squad and 4 reserves, including a goalkeeper).  But it was Senturk who once again came up with the equalizer, with the last kick of the match in regulation.  You have to remember – he was the one that equalized against the Swiss when the Turks came back in their second match…
Dud of the Match –  Josip Simunic and Robert Kovac.  They played well throughout, but their one lapse was the one that killed the Croats.  On the last boot of the match, Recber hit it pretty much as hard as he could down field, fell to the feet of Senturk.  The central defenders should’ve been there, but didn’t mark him closely enough.  With space, Senturk was able to spin around, and hammer home the equalizer, therebynot only putting the teams on level terms once again, but also shifting the momentum to the Turks.  At least Simunic didn’t get 3 yellow cards again…