Turkey to heed Terim warning

Turkey coach Fatih Terim stressed that his side had learned their lesson about underestimating unfancied opponents ahead of their crucial qualifier at the Zimbru Stadium in Moldova.

Malta setback
Turkey sit third in Group C, two points behind leaders Greece - the same number of points they dropped by drawing 2-2 in Malta in their last away game. "Nobody has the right to underestimate Moldova," said Terim. "My team took their lessons from the Malta match and maybe even I underestimated them. Sometimes unexpected things can happen in football but on Saturday it will not be like that. On the contrary, I am sure it will be very different."

'Better team'
While Terim is confident Turkey will achieve the requied result, he knows it "will not be easy". The coach added: "They defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina away. You'll see a Moldovan team who attack with seven or eight men and a team that will never leave empty areas for counterattacks. But Turkey are a better team than Moldova. We will play for the win but any positive result will not diminish our hopes of qualification."

Injury relief
Terim was given a boost yesterday when no further injuries were reported from his squad aside from Hakan Şükür's slight toe problem. The experienced coach also revealed he planned to use Kayserispor midfielder Mehmet Topuz on the right of midfield in the absence of FC Bayern München's suspended Hamit Altıntop and Galatasaray SK’s injured Sabri Sarıoğlu.