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Terry set for Turkey test

Group 7: John Terry's rise up the England ranks will be complete if he starts against Turkey.

By Luke Nicoli

As England defender John Terry prepares to set foot inside the Sükrü Saraçoglu stadium this Saturday afternoon, it completes a remarkable turnaround in fortune for the 22-year-old Londoner.

Completely cleared
Little over a year ago, Terry found himself in court following an alleged brawl on the steps of a nightclub. He and two footballer friends were charged with assault and faced the possibility of a spell in jail. But he was cleared and with Rio Ferdinand left out of the England party, Terry seems set to partner Sol Campbell in defence, with his country needing a point to gain automatic qualification for UEFA EURO 2004™.

Swift rise
It is a swift rise for a man who only received his international debut in June, but Terry attributes his revival partly to the inspirational Italian forward who left Chelsea in the summer, Gianfranco Zola. "Marcel [Desailly], Graeme Le Saux, [manager Claudio] Ranieri and even Tony Adams gave me plenty of encouragement but Franco, in particular, was fantastic. He kept me going during the low days and we grew quite close off the pitch. I looked at the way he conducted himself and he became a role model for me."

Strong competitor
A strong competitor and a good reader of the game, Terry had already become the England Under-21 captain prior to his run-in with the law. His impending court case meant he missed out on the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Switzerland in May last year but his omission only served to fuel his international ambitions.

'Fantastic feeling'
Those were first realised as a substitute in a friendly victory against Serbia and Montenegro. Terry recalled: "It was a fantastic feeling to come on for the second half, a lifetime ambition had been fulfilled. I always knew I had the ability to make the step up into the full side and I enjoyed every minute I was out there."

Aiming for victory
There could be no tougher stage than Istanbul, especially in a stadium from which visiting fans have been excluded on security grounds. Terry said: "We know that Turkey are a good team technically and have a number of match-winners, but I am sure that they are just as wary as us. Although we only need a point, we will be going for all three because it can be dangerous playing for a draw."

Ferdinand absence
The pressure will be on Terry as never before - at least on the pitch - especially as his likely starting place comes as a result of Ferdinand failing to attend a drugs test. However, Turkey striker Hakan Sükür is struggling with a knee injury, although England's own leading forward, Michael Owen was ruled out of the tie on Thursday.

Turkey need win
If Turkey win they will qualify; anything less and they, not England, will enter Monday's play-off draw. But the home side are talking up their chances, despite losing 2-0 in England in Sunderland in April.

'No pressure'
Tugay Kerimoglu, of English side Blackburn Rovers FC, underlined Turkish confidence when he said: "I know they are afraid of us. We know what we want. We will play calmly and beat them. We have no pressure on us. At Sunderland, we lost unluckily, but the atmosphere here is going to be totally different." Captain Bülent Korkmaz added: "We are not even thinking about losing."

Other game
In the other Group 7 game, Liechtenstein will look to end their campaign with their first win as they welcome third-placed Slovakia.

Additional reporting by Türker Tozar

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