Yildiray Basturk penetrated the Japanese area as early as
the first minute, as Turkey tried to get the upper hand and silence the home support.
-- GOAL -- 0-1 Umit Davala headed Turkey into the lead, from Ergun Penbe's corner, in
the 12th minute.
Alessandro Santos almost leveled the score in the 21st
minute and Hakan Sukur almost surprised Seigo Narazaki with a deft chip four minutes
later.
Again Sukur looked dangerous as he headed down to Hasan Sas
but the half volley cleared the crossbar.
An Alessandro Santos free-kick crashed against the woodwork
later on, to give the Japanese some hope for the second-half.
Half-time: Japan 0 -- Turkey 1
Japan made a couple of substitutions at half-time as they
looked for fresh initiative. and Hidetoshi Nakata deflected shot almost troubled Rustu in
the Turkish goal.
Japan continued to look for the equaliser, with Akinori
Nishizawi's header on target and Tomozaku Myojin shooting narrowly wide.
With ten minutes left in the game, Nishizawa's shot flew
over the bar and with it Japan's hopes of a place in the quarter-finals.
Player of the Match:
Alpay -- Although he entered the book in the 21st minute, Alpay managed to stay on the
pitch for the full 90 minutes; to help Turkey shut out the lively Japanese.
