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Turkey to take on Ukraine in qualifier
The Skr Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul will be a partisan stage as the top two sides in the 2006 World Cup UEFA group two go head-to-head on Wednesday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:04 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Istanbul:
The Skr Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul will be a partisan stage as the top two sides in the 2006 World Cup UEFA group two go head-to-head on Wednesday. Both Turkey and Ukraine boast undefeated records in the preliminary competition as the latter lead the table with eight points while Turkey are close behind on six points - however, Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin has dropped three players from his squad after they turned up at the training camp several hours late. Turkey have managed just one victory to date, an easy four-nil victory over Kazakhstan, while the Ukrainians have beaten both Kazakhstan and Georgia - both countries are currently well-placed to qualify as the Ukraine aim to make the World Cup finals for the first time in the nation's history. The pair have yet to meet either in qualifying for a FIFA World Cup or a European Championship. Turkey are blessed with firepower - Nihat Kahveci and Tekke Fatih form a formidable partnership in attack. Between them, the duo have scored five of Turkey's six goals in the qualifiers so far, with Tekke just ahead on three goals. The game against Ukraine also sees the comeback of one of Turkey's key players. Yildiray Bastrk returns to the line-up after a calf injury but both Hasan Sas and Emre Belozoglu are injury doubts. They will also have top marshal Ukraine captain Andriy Shevchenko - one of Europe's most prolific strikers who plies his trade with AC Milan. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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