On this day in 2003, England took on Turkey at the Stadium of Light in a European qualifier. The game saw David Beckham score England’s 1800th goal. It was a great occasion for everyone in Sunderland.
STARTING 11s
England: 1 David James, 2 Gary Neville, 6 Sol Campbell, 5 Rio Ferdinand, 3 Wayne Bridge, 7 David Beckham, 8 Paul Scholes, 4 Steven Gerrard, 11 Nicky Butt, 9 Wayne Rooney, 10 Michael Owen
Turkey: 1 Rustu Recber, 4 Fatih Akyel, 5 Alpay Ozalan, 3 Bulent Korkmaz, 6 Ergun Penbe, 7 Okan Buruk, 8 Tugay Kerimoglu, 2 Emre Belözoğlu, 10 Yildiray Basturk, 11 Nihat Kahveci, 9 Ilhan Mansiz
Turkey got things under way and were greeted with 40,000 boos. Things started to heat up when Beckham clatters into the back of Penbe right next to Turkey’s touchline, there was swearing and the atmosphere was getting hostile.
Beckham eventually received a yellow card in the 8th minute. England came close when Gerrards up and over cross fell to Rooney, who had his attempt blocked by Alpay. The ball then fell to Beckham who put it wide. The Three Lions were huffing and puffing.
Yilderay Basturk came close for the Crescent Stars, when he forced David James to dive to his bottom right corner. The Leverkusen man burst through the middle to create the opportunity.
Just before halftime Rooney and Gerrard linked up to create a chance for Michael Owen. The Ballon D'or winner ends up misfiring and handballing it. Rooney then opened up Turkey again, with a great burst through the middle. He then played the ball through to Owen, but the former Liverpool man didn’t have time to compose himself properly and Rustu smothered it.
England had begun to assert themselves towards the end of the first half, with Wayne Rooney being the stand out man. However, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side needed to find that cutting edge.
The second half got under way, and the Three Lions were on top. Beckham came close when his free kick whistled past the keeper's left hand post. A foul on Gerrard outside the box saw Fatih Akyel given a yellow card, but Beckham's free kick was blocked. Turkey then got a chance on the break, when Ilhan forced a scrappy save from James.
Michael Owen picked up a knock that saw him subbed off for Darius Vassell, and the Villa man was already looking dangerous. The fans then sang “Stand up if you hate the Turks”, needless to say something was building. Rustu made some big saves for Turkey, first it was a Vassell strike, then a Beckham freekick. Wayne Rooney was causing Turkey all kinds of problems, with the young prodigy stretching the Turkish backline.
England finally made it 1-0 when Wayne Bridges' ball was met by Rio Ferdinand on the half volley, Rustu was able to save the first shot but Darius Vassell converted the rebound. The Stadium of Light erupted. However, England came close to throwing away their lead within seconds after a defensive mix up, but thankfully Ilhan Mansiz couldn’t take advantage. Nihat Kahveci then had a headed effort saved by James. Turkey were searching for an equaliser, so they were getting men forward. However, this did leave them open to counter attacks.
Newcastle United midfielder Kieron Dyer replaced Wayne Rooney in the 89th minute. Dyer got the ball down the right straight away and won a penalty for England, the former Ipswich man had made a big impact. Turkey were very unhappy about the decision, and a couple of bookings were handed out. David Beckham slotted the penalty in the bottom left corner, and secured the three points for England. The result took England to the top of the group and Eriksson’s substitutions made a big impact.
