Croatia v Turkey preview

Flying Croats face rejuvenated Turks

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 20th June 2008

Slaven Bilic Euro 2008 Germany

Bilic: Perfect record so far

Related links

Teams

Also see

Croatia and Turkey have differing reasons to be optimistic heading into their Euro 2008 quarter-final clash in Vienna on Friday.

Slaven Bilic's side eased through the group stages with maximum points, picking up an impressive 2-1 victory over Germany on their way.

They have emerged as realistic contenders for the title and should no longer be regarded merely as dark horses for the crown.

Tottenham new-boy Luka Modric has reaffirmed his status as a star of the future, if not the present, while Ivica Olic and Ivan Rakitic have helped enhance their growing reputations with a number of eye-catching performances.

Croatia appear to have all the ingredients required of a successful side, with a solid defence complemented by a technically-gifted midfield and tireless strike force.

Bilic, whose own reputation is growing by the game, will be aware that there is no room for complacency, though, against a Turkish side who battled their way into the knockout stages.

An opening day defeat at the hands of Portugal was a far from ideal start, while they looked dead and buried after falling 2-0 down to Czech Republic in their final Group A fixture.

However, a remarkable fightback, which included three goals in the last 15 minutes, saw them book their place in the last eight at the expense of their shell-shocked opponents.

There is no doubting that Fatih Terim has a talented group of individuals at his disposal, capable of awe-inspiring displays such as the one against the Czechs.

The only question mark hanging over the side is whether they have peaked too soon and whether they will be able to reproduce that level of performance in the last eight.

Options

The Turks' task has not been helped by the fact that their opponents are virtually at full strength, while their own squad is looking worryingly thin.

Bilic will be able to call upon the exciting Rakitic once again as the midfielder has shaken off a knee injury, while Darijo Srna is also back in contention.

The only players unavailable to the talismanic boss are fringe squad members Igor Budan and Dario Knezevic, who will miss the rest of the competition with knee problems.

Worries

His Turkish counterpart, Terim, has considerably more problems as he faces up to the prospect of coping without six members of his squad.

Emre Gungor (calf), Servet Çetin (hip and knee), Emre Belozoglu and Tumer Metin (both groin) are all unavailable, while goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio are suspended.

On the plus side, Emre Asik (head) and Gokhan Zan (knee) appear to have recovered from slight knocks and are expected to be paired together in central defence.