SOCCER-EURO/TURKEY NETHERLANDS PREPS Turkey and Netherlands prepare for crucial Euro 2016 qualifier

Record ID: 141780

  • Title: SOCCER-EURO/TURKEY NETHERLANDS PREPS Turkey and Netherlands prepare for crucial Euro 2016 qualifier
  • Date: 5th September 2015
  • Summary: KONYA, TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 5, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM COACH FATIH TERIM ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM COACH FATIH TERIM, SAYING: "To be honest when we were picked to play in Group A everybody thought the Netherlands would be the favourites and Turkey would be the second. But unfortunately neither Netherlands nor Turkey played well. Or sometimes we played well but could not get any points. We are not at a position where we wanted to be. Therefore it is good to play against the Netherlands under these conditions." CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM COACH FATIH TERIM, SAYING: "We need to play this match in solidarity. We may not have been able to maintain the balance between attack and defence during the game against Latvia however we were able to tolerate this. However we can't tolerate a similiar mistake with the Netherlands. Therefore we need to maintain unity between attack and defence." VARIOUS OF TURKISH TEAM TRAINING NETHERLANDS NATIONAL TEAM COACH DANNY BLIND AND MIDFIELDER WESLEY SNEIJDER ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY PHOTOGRAPHER FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NETHERLANDS NATIONAL TEAM COACH DANNY BLIND SAYING: "Of course. We came back from Brazil in 2014 and we were third of the world so of course it's surprising to struggle now and to struggle for qualification for 2016. We had a bad start and yes, that's I think very disappointing and now we are still in that position and OK, we have to deal with it." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) NETHERLANDS NATIONAL TEAM MIDFIELDER WESLEY SNEIJDER SAYING: "I am a player from the national team so I am here for my country but of course what you said I'm a player for Galatasaray, I live in this country for three years but we will see tomorrow." CAMERAMAN FILMING VARIOUS OF DUTCH TEAM TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2PXDGXDQANH9LJSVULM9LG6LF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Turkey and Netherlands prepared for their crucial Euro 2016 group A qualifier in Konya on Saturday (September 5), with both teams hoping to improve their chances of automatic qualification.
    In the standings for Group A, Netherlands are lying third with 10 points and Turkey are one point behind them and are facing the prospect of playoffs. Iceland lead the group with 18 points, followed by the Czech Republic with 16 points.
    On Thursday (September 3) the Dutch suffered a 1-0 home loss to group leaders Iceland, while Turkey were held to a 1-1 draw against Latvia.
    Turkey coach Fatih Terim admitted his side are not where they wanted to be but are not daunted by facing the Netherlands on Sunday (September 6).
    "To be honest when we were picked to play in Group A everybody thought the Netherlands would be the favourites and Turkey would be the second. But unfortunately neither Netherlands nor Turkey played well. Or sometimes we played well but could not get any points. We are not at a position where we wanted to be. Therefore it is good to play against the Netherlands under these conditions," Terim said at a news conference in Konya on Saturday (September 5).
    Terim knows Netherlands will be tough opponents and said his side needs to have a good balance between attack and defence.
    "We need to play this match in solidarity. We may not have been able to maintain the balance between attack and defence during the game against Latvia however we were able to tolerate this. However we can't tolerate a similar mistake with the Netherlands. Therefore we need to maintain unity between attack and defence," said Terim.
    Netherlands, the third placed team at the 2014 World Cup, have had a poor Euro campaign under new coach Danny Blind who acknowledged they are struggling to qualify for the finals.
    "We came back from Brazil in 2014 and we were third of the world so of course it's surprising to struggle now and to struggle for qualification for 2016. We had a bad start and yes, that's I think very disappointing and now we are still in that position and OK, we have to deal with it," said Blind.
    Mathematically the Dutch could yet win Group A but only if leaders Iceland and the second placed Czech Republic implode in their last three qualifiers. The top two teams in each group and the best third placed team overall qualify automatically for the finals in France next year while the remaining eight third placed finishers proceed to play-offs in November.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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