Turkey

Not much to say here, the heat maps talk for themselves. Not in this tournament so far have two teams covered the pitch so comprehensively. Thanks to the Castrol Performance Index for providing the stats.

Derdiyok becomes the youngest player to start a game at this championship, and still a teenager (only just, he’s 20 tomorrow), and one of 4 Swiss players with Turkish heritage.

Feisty start from both teams, but is this torrential rain going to lead to an abandonment?

Try abandoning now, with Hakan Yakin scoring against the land of his forefathers!

The rain is playing a real part in this game, and the speed and distance figures go to show how testing the conditions are. After 30 minutes, the furthest anyone has run is Tuncay, who has clocked up 3558m. Not really what you’d expect. His heat map shows that he has covered a great deal of the pitch, though.

Stats provided by the Castrol Performance Index

Following the mass brawl that marred the traditional shirt-swapping at the end of the last game between these two countries, UEFA will be hoping today’s game goes off in a rather more gentlemanly fashion. The omens are not good, however, as the teams are already 1^st and 3^rd in the ‘Most Fouls Committed’ table. And with both needing a win (and 3 points), any dodgy tackles might well ignite the tinderbox. The referee is going to have to be very careful how he adjudicates this one. Should be very, very interesting and has a high chance of seeing the first red card of the tournament.

The Swiss will be hoping that Valon Behrami has another all round good game to match the one he had against the Czechs on Saturday. Behrami’s heat map shows just what a coach would like to see from his right-sided midfielder, complete coverage of that flank both in attack and defence. He also provided six crosses and ran nearly 10km during the match, bettered only by the amazingly hard-working Fernanded. Added to this, he has form against Turkey in previous encounters, having scored against them when the Swiss were victorious in the last World Cup qualifying game. So what price Behrami to net one, or at least be the provider, tonight?

Tom thinks this one could be a fractious 1-1

Jack reckons getting money on a ’sending off’ is a must! 0-1

Stats, as ever, courtesy of http://www.castrolindex.com

Well, hands up who didn’t see that coming? Fairly predictable victory for the Portuguese, but Turkey actually provided a spirited defence. Even if the four man unit at the back only covered half the distance of their opposition quartet, they still kept the marauding hoardes at bay…well, them and the woodwork.

Their attack worked their socks off, too, covering 36027m to the Portuguese 15471m. But it didn’t come up with much in the way of palpable chances. A few near misses, but nothing like Portugal. But saying that, they only had 53% of the ball, they just did more with it when they had it to make them look mlike the dominant side. A quick look at the heat maps shows that Portugal played mostly in the middle of the park, whereas Turkey were pushing down the flanks a lot more. It was the final ball that did for the Turks, though, coupled with strong defence from Portugal’s Pepe (he of the first goal) and Carvalho.

So, quite close according to most of the stats, but the one that counts for most is the one that will be printed at the top of all the reports in the newspapers tomorrow. Final score, Portugal 2, Turkey 0.

After 15 minutes, Ronaldo (predictably) is the fastest player on the field, notching up 28.45 km/h, by far the fleetest of foot seen in the tournament so far. Pepe has covered 1437m, but Erdinc of Turkey beats him with 1582. Compared to the same time in the last match, these guys are 500m fresher (lazier? slower?) than their Swiss and Czech counterparts. Let’s see how it develops in the next few minutes. Game pace is frenetic, but only in patches, compared to the full tempo game earlier.

Possession-wise, Portugal are all over the Turks, with 67% of the ball. Sounds from that like the Portuguese are all over them, but the Turkish side are using the small glimpses of the ball that they have wisely. The Turks have also spent a LOT of time on the ground. Moaning.

After 30 minutes, situation remains the same, although Portugal have come within a coat of paint of scoring from a wicked Ronaldo free kick. Good fingertips from the Turkish keeper.

OK – no offence to anyone of a Turkish persuasion, but on the inaugural day of Euro 2008 the evening kick off is all about one man – and whether he starts next season at Real Madrid or Manchester United…. Tonight Portugal – Ronaldo is all yours!

Even Chelsea fans would have a hard time denying that the talismanic 23 year-old was simply stunning in the Premier League, 42 goals in all competitions as he led United to Premier league and CL triumph tell their own story,and although he has turned it on for the national team too – is it not quite to the same extent.

For as this statistics direct from the Castrol Performance Index show beneath, Cristiano converts roughly one in every four shots for Portugal, and if the Turkish defence is as leaky as one suspects it may be – Ronnie’s going to open up an awful lot of chances with his electric pace.

The key for Portugal however seems to be keeping the largely ineffective Turkish strikers at bay, by forcing them into long-range efforts. Take a look at the CPI graph below, which shows the destination of Turkey’s 20 efforts against international also-rans Belarus. An embarrassment of shooting riches they won’t be afforded today.

We can’t help but think that coach Fatih Terim has shot himself in the foot by leaving out class (if elderly) striker Hakan Sükür, despite the fact he was Turkey’s top scorer in the qualifying campaign with five goals. Villarreal’s Nihat and Middlesbrough’s Tuncay are Turkey’s current top scorers with 15 goals, but the latter has failed to score in his last eight competitive games for the national team.

Jack Predicts: 2-0

Tom predicts: 2-1

9 days… That’s it! Just over a week until the showcase for international European football kicks off, and there’s clearly no better way to prepare yourself than with a free, downloadable wall chart that can be printed off, slapped on the wall – and diligently filled in until the final on the 29^th.

Who will win? Well my cheeky prediction is for a Netherlands vs. Germany final, with The Oranje coming out surprising winners – but to make up your own mind using the stats, check out castrolindex.com.

Meanwhile, come get your fill – you’re more than welcome to download our free Euro 2008 wallchart here, or by clicking on the picture below. Easily printable on A4 paper (so you can run off a load at work and no one will notice), it is complete with all the info you’ll need (date, times, venues etc) – as well as statistically the very best XI in qualifying.

Download it here… (or right click on the picture and select ’save link as’)

euro2008wallchart_uk.pdf