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LAST 16 REVIEW
TURKEY 1-0 JAPAN
CO-HOSTS Japan bowed out of the
World Cup with a clear sense of anti-climax - they played well
below themselves and looked to have run out of ideas well before
referee Pierluigi Collina blew for the final whistle.
Turkey midfielder Umit Davala scored the only goal of the game in the 12th minute - heading home unchallenged from Ergun Penbe's cross.
Japan had plenty of possession, but always struggled to make the wisest usage of it, and always looked bereft of incision in the final third.
Brazilian-born playmaker Alex came closest to scoring for the hosts - hitting the angle of post and bar with a 41st-minute free-kick, before surprisingly being withdrawn at half-time.
Phillippe Troussier also frustrated the fanatical home fans by not introducing super-sub Hiroaki Morishima until the 85th minute, when it seemed far too little, too late.
Bolton reject Akinori Nishizawa summed everything up when he curled a half-decent effort well over the bar in the 89th minute, and injured himself in the process.