Popovic responds to ‘more talented’ Turkish sledge
Updated . First published at
Turkiye captain Hakan Calhanoglu declared his side is “more talented” than the Socceroos and expects his team to dominate their World Cup clash on Sunday (AEST).
World No.27 Australia opens their World Cup campaign in Vancouver against No.22 ranked Turkiye, who are playing in their first World Cup since 2002.
Tony Popovic at a press conference ahead of their first match tomorrow. Getty Images
Turkiye were quarter-finalists at the most recent European Championships and have been tipped by many pundits to top Group D and progress to the knockout stages.
Their side features young guns, in Real Madrid star Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz of Juventus, however, all 26 players in the Turkish squad will be playing in their first World Cup.
Australia has nine players with World Cup experience, but Inter Milan defender Calhanoglu was direct when asked about the qualities of the Australian team.
“Of course, our coach analysed them with us together,” Calhanoglu told media after training in Vancouver.
“So we know that they’re a physical team, that they’re good at the corner kicks and on the free kicks because they are tall and strong.
“But I think that we dominate tomorrow, the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team, so we will see tomorrow what happens.”
When asked about the Turkish skipper’s comments, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic was diplomatic.
“I respect his comment, and he has a right to be asked a question, and he has a right to answer it any way he likes,” Popovic said.
Turkiye captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu said his side is “more talented” than the Socceroos. Getty
“They expect to win, but so do most people. They expect Turkiye here to beat Australia tomorrow, so that’s no different.
“So all we can do is try and spoil the party.”
Turkish star İsmail Yuksek was also asked about comments made by Socceroos defender Milos Degenek in the lead up to the tournament.
Degenek said that his side’s experience at World Cups could be an advantage, and that Turkey must contend with the pressure back home.
“Türkiye has got a lot of pressure as well, because they haven’t been to a World Cup since 2002. There’s a lot of hope on them, and a lot of pressure,” the Aussie said.
But Yuksek laughed off the remarks.
“Some funny statements came from the Australian side. They’re probably trying to put pressure on us, but in my opinion, it’s a funny statement. They don’t know us. I don’t think they know much about the pressure in Turkiye.”
“We also achieved a great success at the European Championship. When we went there, many of our teammates had no prior experience at the European Championship.
“We have teammates on our squad who play for top-tier teams. High-quality, character-driven... yes, this is the first time this squad will be participating in the World Cup, but I think we’ve shown in previous tournaments that we can truly rise to the challenge.”
The Socceroos are attempting to win their opening game at the tournament for the first time since Kaiserslautern in 2006.
Popovic said his side is accustomed to doubters from the outside.
“We know they are strong. We’ve analysed them, but we also have to think of ourselves and think how we can cause them problems and show Australian football at the World Cup,” Popovic said.
“And that’s our aim tomorrow, to be extremely competitive, to show that we are a strong nation and that we deserve to be respected.
“We understand that not many people are expecting much from us outside of our own people, our own media, our own team, our own staff, but we’re accustomed to that.
“But we’re confident that we can show them some great football tomorrow and show them what Australian football can do.”
