Turkey take third place
Tuncay Sanli fired Turkey into a second minute lead after a defensive mix-up. Colombia playmaker Giovanni Hernandez levelled in the 63rd, but Okan, who missed a late penalty in their 3-2 semi-final defeat by France, fired home an 86th minute winner.
Turkey, who also finished third at the 2002 World Cup, owed their victory in part to Colombia’s mistakes in the first half and their failure to take their chances in the second.
The South Americans made a dismal start with two blunders combining to present Tuncay with an easy opportunity to score his third goal of the tournament.
Goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba’s miscued clearance produced a daisy-cutter, Turkey seized possession and Jorge Lopez’s botched attempt to head clear only sent the ball into the path of Tuncay, who rifled in a stinging shot on the bounce.
Gokdeniz Karadeniz should have made it 2-0 but shot wide of an open goal from 22 metres after Cordoba fluffed another clearance – sending it straight to the Turkey midfielder.
Hernandez menace
Hernandez, Colombia’s outstanding pint-sized playmaker, was the architect of their attacking manoeuvres, his deft flicks and short passes posing a constant menace to Turkey’s defence.
His team’s best chance fell to singularly unimpressive striker Victor Aristizabal, who steered Eudalio Arriaga’s cross onto the post from close range just after the break.
Hernandez made no such mistake, though, working a one-two with Aristizabal inside the box and just managing to nudge the ball past advancing goalkeeper Omer Catkic for the equaliser.
Colombia should have been in front minutes later when Hernandez dinked the ball through for Aristizabal, who failed to beat Catkic from point-blank range.
Colombia paid the price when Turkey caught them on the break and Tuncay fed the ball wide for Okan to smack a low shot into the right-hand corner to snatch victory.
Holders France take on Cameroon in Monday’s final at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of St Denis with FIFA president Sepp Blatter calling for the match to be played in a competitive spirit to honour the memory of Foe.
Source: Reuters
