Turkey and Sweden stuck in stalemate

Turkey 0-0 Sweden
Defences held sway in the meeting between Turkey and Sweden in Istanbul as the UEFA EURO 2008™ finalists played out a goalless draw.

Attacking trio
Keen to continue the winning form with which Turkey had ended their Group C campaign, coach Fatih Terim handed attacking duties to Yıldıray Baştürk, Halil Altıntop and Nihat Kahveci, but that trio were seldom seen in a match short on tempo or forward momentum. The home side started brightly, yet with Sweden still smarting from a 2-0 friendly defeat by the United States a fortnight ago, they were met by a blanket defence.

Nihat drive
Long shots were the order of the day. Nihat tested Andreas Isaksson with a rasping drive just after the half-hour, though when he attempted to repeat the trick moments later, he watched the effort fly well wide. It summed up the Villarreal CF striker's night as he failed to find a final shot or cross to do justice to his ambitious approach play.

Changes
Baştürk and Halil Altıntop experienced even less joy and were sacrificed for Mehmet Yıldız and Arda Turan at half-time, with Emre Belözoğlu adopting the playmaker role. Mehmet Topuz, Mehmet Topal and Gökdeniz Karadeniz were also brought on to bolster the midfield yet the changes only served to unsettle Turkey. Sweden, who had hitherto had only a miscued Kennedy Bakircioglü shot to show for their efforts, began to press.

Hopes raised
The largely anonymous Volkan Demirel was forced into action to keep out Kim Källström's strike, raising hopes among the crowd of an absorbing finish. These were dashed, however, as the teams reverted to a midfield stalemate, each settling for the positive of keeping a clean sheet.