Preview: Turkey to use home advantage in a bid to qualify for the World Cup
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadyumu will be at boiling point as the Turkish faithful will be hoping of a positive performance from their side against a Dutch team unbeaten in the entire World Cup Qualification campaign. In fact the flying Dutchmen have not lost a World Cup Qualifier since September 2001 and Turkey will have to put a performance of a lifetime for them to get the better of Louis van Gaal's men.
The Holland side in their last outing demolished Hungary 8-1 on Friday and with the emphatic win they extended their unbeaten run to 31 games. Turkey who have not defeated Netherlands since 1998, need a victory on Tuesday to ensure them of a place in the World Cup in Brazil next year.
The second position in the group which will guarantee its incumbent a play-off match is currently occupied by Turkey but is very much up for the grabs. Both Romania who are on level points with Turkey and Hungary who trail Turkey by only two points can move to second place. Whereas Romania will need a draw at least, Hungary will have to earn maximum points if they are to have any chance of finishing second in the group.
However with a much superior goal difference Turkey know they have their faith in their own hands and their coach Fatih Terim who was recently relieved of his duties as manager of Galatasaray is hopeful his side can get the result in Istanbul, but has also stated that Turkey’s failure to qualify for the illustrious tournament will not be a disaster either.
"We must focus on Netherlands game without thinking of Romania’s game. Our players can manage everything. We have to turn this into teamwork," he said.
"If the result is not as we hoped, which is also possible, the national team will prepare for European Championship. We will accept this reality.”
Fatih Terim who guided Turkey to their most successful run in a major tournament when the Crescent-Stars reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 will be without the injured Nuri Sahin, and the suspended Caner Erkin.
However Terim will have at his expense one of Europe’s most lethal strikers in Burak Yilmaz who has scored five times in the WCQ campaign and will be hoping to better his tally against the Oranje.
Netherlands on the other hand boast a striker who has arguably been the most clinical one in the past year or so.Robin Van Persie’s sublime hat-trick on Friday against Hungary helped him surpass Patrick Kluivert’s record of the most goals for the Dutch national side and the 30 year old might be the biggest hurdle in Turkey’s bid to qualify for the World Cup next year.
After receiving a yellow card in the match against Hungary, Nigel de Jong will miss the trip to Istanbul through suspension. Whereas Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt will return to the country they play their club football at, however only the former is expected to start with Kuyt likely to be on the bench.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, Live scores
Watch Turkey vs Netherlands live on Tuesday, October 15, 2013:
In Canada at 14:00 ET on: Sportsnet World Online
In USA at 14:00 ET on ESPN3
If you are in Turkey, tune into Star TV. Fans based in Australia can watch the match live on Setanta Sports Plus Australia.
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Turkey vs Netherlands match page.
