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NEWCASTLE, England, March 31: Turkey coach Senol Gnes expects to face a different sort of England on Wednesday from the unimpressive side that beat Liechtenstein in a Euro 2004 Group Seven qualifier last Saturday.
“England were playing the weakest link in the group and played at a very low tempo in order to concentrate on their game with Turkey,” Gnes said on Monday.
“But they will play a different game against us on Wednesday. The game with Liechtenstein was significant in terms of result but not in terms of performance,” Gunes said.
“There are two strong sides in this group so this game could be considered as a final and if we can’t win, a draw will be good for us.”
World Cup semifinalists Turkey lead the group with a maximum nine points from three games while England, whom they meet in Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, have seven after a disappointing home draw against Macedonia last year.
Gnes said England had not shown their best form in the competition up to now.
“The three points that England gained in their victory against Slovakia were not deserved and the two points they lost against Macedonia was a surprise to us and to England.
“The England team were not able to display the type of performance that their people expected in those two games.
“But I do not assume that England are a weak team and I expect that it will be a tough game on Wednesday,” he said.
Gnes said that his team’s preparations for the game in north-east England were going well.
“We have had a good time since the first day we arrived here,” Gnes said. “Our relationship with English people has been very good and it’s been much better with the good weather.
“We’ve been the England often before but this is the first time we have had such beautiful weather and we’ve been made to feel at home.
“We have a few injured players but Hakan Unsal is the only one who is seriously injured and apart from that the levels of motivation and morale are okay so we do not have any problems.”
Beckham misses training
SLALEY, England: Meanwhile England trained for their Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey without David Beckham on Monday after their captain developed foot blisters, Football Association officials said.
Beckham, who scored England’s second goal in Saturday’s 2-0 victory in Liechtenstein, is still expected to play in Wednesday’s clash with the Group Seven leaders in Sunderland.
Fellow midfielder Kieron Dyer was also rested for Monday’s training session at their team camp in the Northumberland countryside.
FA officials said Dyer, who has a history of shin problems, usually opted out of Monday training after weekend games at club level with Newcastle United.
England go into Wednesday’s match at the Stadium of Light looking for a win that would lift them above the Turks and into top slot in the group.
They currently trail the World Cup semi-finalists by two points, after taking seven points from three games, as the qualifying competition reaches the halfway stage.—Reuters
