Turkish Soccer Boots Outrun Brazilian Counterparts

Turkey secured at ticket to the Confederations Cup semifinal match, and will take on France after knocking out world champion Brazil from the tournament on Monday, which took place in France. Turkey won the third-place playoff against South Korea in the last World Cup.

The Brazilian team lost 1-0 to Cameroon, squeaked a 1-0 win over the United States and could only draw 2-2 against Turkey. Turkey beat Brazil to the semifinal with a higher number of goal points.

Even considering the absence of superstars like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos da Silva, and Rivaldo, it was a severe shock to the team.

To begin with, the match was tipped towards Turkey. All Turkey had to do was bring the game to a draw, while Brazil had to win to advance to the semifinals. Brazil took the early initiative, but fell behind 2-1 and scored a meaningless extra-time goal to force a draw.

Cameroon won the group despite a scoreless draw with the United States. Cameroon faces Colombia in the early semifinals on Thursday.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com