Turkey target new heights

By Andrew Haslam in Blois

Turkey coach Gündüz Tekin Onay believes his side stepped up to another level in their 5-2 victory against Northern Ireland, and urged his players to continue their improvement against hosts France on Sunday.

Another level
Having started their Group A campaign with a narrow 1-0 loss to last year's losing finalists Spain, Turkey bounced back in style with the demolition of Northern Ireland - having led 4-0 at half-time - but their coach believes his side will have to step up to another level to take anything from the game with France at the Stade Georges Boulogne in Amboise.

Scoring spree
"The match against Northern Ireland brought pleasure to all the spectators," he told uefa.com. "Our objective is to score goals, and in this respect things could not have gone any better. Obviously, there are lessons to be learnt from every match, win or lose, and [against Northern Ireland] I was satisfied with one half but not with the other."

Early advantage
"Luck was with us, as we scored our first goal very quickly which was to our advantage as it allowed us play as we wished," the Turkey coach continued. "That is a perhaps a feature of Turkish football, particularly with this age group; sometimes when we score, we [subsequently] lose concentration. Had we played the second half of the match like we played the first we could perhaps have come out with an even more favourable result."

Spanish setback
Gündüz firmly believes that his side did not perform to their capabilities against Spain, when a solitary goal from midfield player Marcos proved enough for the 2003 finalists to take all three points. "We are conscious that we did not play particularly well against Spain and did not really do ourselves justice," the Turkey coach said. "In fact, that game was one of our worst performances, although we still might have taken a draw from the match."

Winning potential
One possible explanation the coach offered for his side's defeat was the reputation of the players on the opposing team. "I believe that my players were a little bit overawed by the Spanish, and did not play their usual game," he said. "[The technical staff] are obviously aware of the potential of our players, our aim is to get to the final and we will do whatever we can to get there."

Notable improvement
The manner in which the Turkish team recovered from their initial disappointment impressed many observers, but Gündüz is acutely aware that the improvement cannot stop there. "In the second match, obviously the players had a new confidence and found their form again."

French experience
"However, I think that against France we will have to play better than we have so far," he continued. "We know this French team very well, having played them around ten times over the last two years. A lot of the matches have ended with a favourable result for us, and the two teams know each other inside out. The team that makes fewer mistakes will win the game."