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Turkey make history of beating Japan 1-0, roaring to World Cup quarter-finals |
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Turkey, which embraced the World Cup finals for the first time in 48 years, made a history of jumping into the quarterfinals of the competition after upsetting co-hosts Japan 1-0 in the knock-out stage in Japan’s city Miyagi Tuesday.
Turkey's midfielder Umit Davala headed in a corner kick in a goalmouth melee in the 12th minute, giving his side the winner goal. Davala, who was quite eye-catching in the pitch for his warrior hairstyle, got the landing point of the ball precisely, jumped high and glanced the cross into the net.
After conceding the goal, Japan seemed to wake up and launch waves of attacks and exerted great pressure on the Turks. But they missed many scoring chances including a screaming free kick, which hit the top-left corner of the goal in the 42nd.
Japan's forward Alex made a dive header on a right-wing cross in the 44th, which unfortunately flew over the bar.
Under the enthusiastic home support, Japan have launched consecutive penetrating offensives around the Turks' goal since the start of second half and created many opportunities for a longing draw.
In the 51st, Japan's talented international midfielder Koji Nakata fired a volley on the edge of the box, which accidentally hit the body of a Turkish defender and jumped a little higher than the goalkeeper Rustu Recber who had to face upward to block the shot on the goal line.
In the 60th, Japan's forward Akinori Nishizawa missed a clear scoring chance in the penalty area by jump-heading a right-wing pass directly into the arms of Recber.
With their solid defense, the Turks unleashed several fast-pace counter-attacks in which midfielder Yildiray Basturk' 68th-minute long-range shot flew narrowly wide.
Both Japan and Turkey have already made a history for advancing to the knockout stage of the World Cup finals but Turkey expanded the glory today.
Turkey will face a duel with Senegal, also World Cup debutantes, in the quarterfinals, and the winner of the match will continue making a history for their country.
Editor: Ronnie
Source: Xinhua
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