U.S. men

Sanli scores winner in debut, leading Turkey to 2-1 victory in Confederations Cup.

SAINT ETIENNE, France (Thursday, June 19, 2003) -- Tuncay Sanli made his international debut in style, scoring midway through the second half to give Turkey a 2-1 come-from-behind decision over the United States in the Confederations Cup Group B opener for both nations this afternoon before 16,944 at Geoffroy Guichard Stadium.

"Our lack of continuity on the field in all positions was a factor in the game," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "We had a bunch of players that had sub-par performances and you can't get away with that."

In the second Group B match, forward Samuel Etoo scored in the 83rd minute to lead Cameroon past Brazil 1-0 in Paris. The U.S. needs at least a draw against Brazil Saturday in Lyon -- broadcast live on Spanish-language TeleFutura at 3 p.m. (ET) -- to stay alive for advancement to the semifinals of this eight-nation event. Turkey can secure a place in the semifinals by defeating Cameroon Saturday.

The U.S. finishes group play against Cameroon Monday at 3 p.m.

In the 70th minute, Turkey applied pressure, intercepting a U.S. clearance. Sanli touched the ball to midfielder Volkan Arslan and made a dash behind the American defense to collect the return pass in the middle of the penalty area. Exposed, goalkeeper Tim Howard came out, but did not go down to get the ball. Sanli dodged the keeper to the left and as Howard stumbled slightly, he deposited a left-footer into the vacated net.

"We weren't pressuring the ball deep enough in the first half and they were able to play some long balls over the top of us," said defender Frankie Hejduk who served as U.S. captain for the match. "It was a new back four. It was our first time playing all together in the back. Any time you start a new group its tough. The back four is definitely something that takes time to work on, you can't get it done overnight. It's something that needs work, but I think we did decent playing all together for the first time."

Eight minutes later, U.S. reserve striker Clint Mathis was robbed on an attempt to tie. Midfielder Landon Donovan found Mathis with a long pass into the left side of the box, but Mathis' attempted shot was tackled away by retreating defender Fatih Sonkaya. The ball caromed off prone Turkish defender Alpay Ozalan, but bounced back to Mathis at the corner of the six yard box for a left-footed side volley.

With keeper Omer Catkic having charged well off his goal line in anticipation of Mathis' first shot, defender Bulent Korkmaz was left to head the blast away inched before it crossed the line.

The U.S. grabbed a short-lived 1-0 lead in the 37th minute, moments after Turkish forward Okan Yilmaz's 18-yard blast went inches wide right of the American net. Howard's subsequent goal kick bounced nearly the length of the field with Donovan catching up with it halfway down the left perimeter of the box before sending a cross to the far post. With defender Ibrahim Uzulmez lost in the middle of the box, Beasley was wide open for a three-yard header past Catkic.

The goal "doesn't mean anything unless you win the game," Beasley said. "It's good to go up 1-0 early, but we got careless and we gave a way a goal in the next two minutes. It was a tough loss, but we have to regroup and get ready for Saturday.

"I think Eddie Lewis played it to Landon. He was by himself, and the guy wasn't marking me. Landon played a great ball over his head and I got my head on it, and it went in. It was a great goal for me, but at the same time it's terrible because we lost the game."

Turkey equalized two minutes later with a controversial goal. On a long pass from his midfield, Sanli clear took the ball down with his right arm at the top of the box, but no call was made. As Sanli carried in on goal, U.S. defender was ruled to have taken the Turk down from behind for a penalty kick.

After Donovan was issued a yellow card for dissent, forward Okan Yilmaz drill the penalty perfectly into the lower left corner, beyond the reach of an outstretched Howard. The U.S. Men's National Team fell to Turkey 2-1 today in their 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup opener in front of 16,944 fans at Geoffroy Guichard Stadium in Saint Etienne, France. "Over 90 minutes, they positioned themselves better and won a number of second balls," said Bruce Arena, whose record in 2003 drops to 5-2-1. "They were more of the dominant team for 90 minutes, and they deserved to win. We did not play well today. We need to regroup and get ready for Brazil." Having substituted forward Clint Mathis for Jovan Kirovski in the 59th minute, Arena brought in even more offense with his final two subs as the U.S. pushed for the equalizer. A ragged Eddie Lewis was replaced by Earnie Stewart in 72nd minute, and forward Taylor Twellman came on for defender Gregg Berhalter in the 79th minute, but the U.S. could not even the score despite creating several good scoring chances and owning much of the possession as Turkey bunkered in defensively. Fans can watch the match tonight via Same Day Delay broadcast on Galavision at 7 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT, followed by Brazil-Cameroon at 9 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT. The loss marked the first time that a UEFA team defeated a CONCACAF team in the history of the bi-annual competition, which dates back to 1997. In Group A action yesterday, #2-ranked tournament host France needed a penalty kick goal from Thierry Henry to get by Colombia 1-0 in Lyon, while Japan got two goals from Shunsuke Nakamura and easily handled New Zealand, 3-0, in Paris. Group A action continues tomorrow with Colombia-New Zealand at 7 p.m. ET/PT (Galavision) in Lyon and France-Japan at 9 p.m. ET/PT in St. Etienne.

Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay). Assistant referees: Fernando Cresci Fripp (Uruguay), Walt Rial Hernandez (Uruguay) Attendance: 16,944 at Geoffroy Guichard Stadium in Saint Etienne, France. Weather: 78 degrees; sunny, warm.