Switzerland booked their place in the 2006
World Cup Finals on Wednesday night despite a 4-2 defeat in the second leg of
their play-off with Turkey.
The Turks, who finished third in the 2002 World Cup, fought hard but could not
recover enough ground after losing the first leg 2-0 in Bern last Saturday.
Switzerland, who last played at the finals in 1994, had to survive in a
hostile atmosphere at Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu stadium.
They also had to contend with home striker Tuncay Sanli, who hit a hat-trick
on a night of personal achievement.
The match started at breakneck speed with Switzerland grabbing an early away
goal when Cologne defender Alpay handballed inside the area and Alexander Frei
slotted home the spot kick.
Facing elimination, Turkey upped the tempo - Tuncay firing wide when well
placed.
In the 16th minute Turkey missed a golden opportunity to equalise.
Necati Ates crossed from the right towards captain Hakan Sukur, ideally placed
in front of Pascal Zuberbuhler's goal.
But the Swiss goalkeeper made a fine block to preserve his team's advantage.
Fatih Terim's men kept plugging away, however, and got the reward they
deserved after 24 minutes when Sanli netted.
Thirteen minutes later Tuncay added a second for the home side after neat
inter-play with Ergun Penbe and Sukur.
Frei should have made it 2-2 on the night immediately after half-time but
missed the target.
And they almost rued his profligacy when Turkey were awarded a penalty after
51 minutes when Serhat Akin was brought down inside the area.
Ates converted to level the scores on aggregate.
But Switzerland made sure of their place in Germany with six minutes to go
when Marco Streller fired home.
There was still time for Tuncay to complete his treble but it wasn't enough as
the Swiss edged through.
Teams
Turkey: Demirel, Hamit Altintop, Alpay, Seyhan,
Emre (Basturk 82), Penbe, Selcuk Sahin, Sanli, Akin (Metin 70),
Ates (Tekke 81), Sukur.
Subs Not Used: Rustu, Balci, Toraman, Halil Altintop.
Booked: Selcuk Sahin, Emre, Seyhan, Penbe, Metin.
Goals: Sanli 22, 36, Ates 52 pen, Sanli 89.
Switzerland: Zuberbuhler, Senderos, Degen (Behrami 46),
Spycher, Muller, Barnetta, Wicky, Cabanas, Vogel,
Gygax (Streller 31), Frei, Streller (Huggel 87).
Subs Not Used: Coltorti, Vonlanthen, Lustrinelli, Grichting.
Booked: Degen, Zuberbuhler, Behrami.
Goals: Frei 1 pen, Streller 84.
Agg (4-4) Switzerland win on Away Goals Rule
Att: 40,000
Ref: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).
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