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Group
7
Before
the qualifying campaign for UEFA EURO 2004 got under way,
Group 7 looked to be one of the most intriguing sections,
featuring as it did the side who finished third in the 2002
FIFA World Cup, Turkey, along with England, who reached the
last eight in Korea/Japan. Slovakia - who finished third in
Group 4 behind Sweden and Turkey in qualifying for the World
Cup - Macedonia and Liechtenstein completed the section.
Turkey began the campaign solidly, disposing of Slovakia 3-0
at home with Arif Erdem scoring twice, while Liechtenstein
earned a creditable 1-1 draw at home against F.Y.R. Macedonia.
The two group favourites both earned 2-1 away wins in the next
round of matches, although both had to come from behind, with
Turkey winning in Skopje against F.Y.R. Macedonia and England
defeating Slovakia.
However, Sven-Göran Eriksson's side were pegged back in their
next match, Macedonia earning an unexpected point with a 2-2
draw at Southampton's St Mary's stadium, while Turkey
maintained their perfect record, Serhat Akin scoring twice in
a 5-0 win against Liechtenstein.
A 2-0 victory in Liechtenstein got England back on track, with
Slovakia winning away to Macedonia by the same scoreline, and
following that performance up with an emphatic 4-0 win at home
to Liechtenstein, Szilárd Nemeth scoring twice. Next the
group's top two met at Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light, with
England taking over at the head of the standings as late goals
from Darius Vassell and David Beckham earned a 2-0 win against
Turkey.
Senol Gunes's side returned to winning ways, and the top of
the section, in June when Nihat Kahveci's goal earned a 1-0
victory in Slovakia. Meanwhile, Macedonia were 3-1 winners at
home to Liechtenstein. Two Michael Owen goals helped England
to another 2-1 win at home to Slovakia four days later, with
Turkey defeating Macedonia 3-2 the same night.
Next up, England recorded a 2-1 win away against Macedonia and
Turkey won 3-0 in Liechtenstein, with the English winning 2-0
against the same opponents in their next fixture to retake top
spot. All that meant England travelled to Istanbul for their
final game against Turkey knowing a point would guarantee
automatic qualification for the finals in Portugal.
A disciplined defensive display ensured Eriksson's side gained
the draw they needed, relegating Turkey to a play-off against
Latvia. Meanwhile Slovakia finished third in the section and
ended their campaign with a 2-0 win away at bottom side
Liechtenstein. - UEFA.com
| Turkey |
3-0 |
Slovakia |
07/09/02 |
Serhat
15
Arif 44, 65 |
|
| Liechtenstein |
1-1 |
Macedonia |
07/09/02 |
| Michael
Stocklasa 90 |
Hristov
8 |
| Slovakia |
1-2 |
England |
12/10/02 |
| Nemeth
24 |
Beckham
65
Owen 82 |
| Macedonia |
1-2 |
Turkey |
12/10/02 |
| Grozdanovski
2 |
Buruk
29
Nihat 53 |
| Turkey |
5-0 |
Liechtenstein |
16/10/02 |
Buruk
7
Davala 14
Mansiz 23
Serhat 81, 90 |
|
| England |
2-2 |
Macedonia |
16/10/02 |
Beckham
14
Gerrard 36 |
Sakiri
11
Trajanov 25 |
| Liechtenstein |
0-2 |
England |
29/03/03 |
| |
Owen
28
Beckham 53 |
| Macedonia |
0-2 |
Slovakia |
29/03/03 |
| |
Petras
28
Reiter 90 |
| England |
2-0 |
Turkey |
02/04/03 |
Vassell
76
Beckham pen 90 |
|
| Slovakia |
4-0 |
Liechtenstein |
02/04/03 |
Reiter
18
Nemeth 51, 64
Janocko 90 |
|
| Slovakia |
0-1 |
Turkey |
07/06/03 |
| |
Nihat
12 |
| Macedonia |
3-1 |
Liechtenstein |
07/06/03 |
Sedloski
pen 31
Krstev 51
Stojkov 81 |
Beck
20 |
| England |
2-1 |
Slovakia |
11/06/03 |
| Owen
pen 62, 73 |
Janocko
31 |
| Turkey |
3-2 |
Macedonia |
11/06/03 |
Kahveci
27
Gokdeniz 48
Sukur 60 |
Grozdanovski
24
Sakiri 28 |
| Liechtenstein |
0-3 |
Turkey |
06/09/03 |
| |
Metin
14
Okan 41
Sukur 50 |
| Macedonia |
1-2 |
England |
06/09/03 |
| Hristov
28 |
Rooney
53
Beckham pen 63 |
| England |
2-0 |
Liechtenstein |
10/09/03 |
Owen
46
Rooney 52 |
|
| Slovakia |
1-1 |
Macedonia |
10/09/03 |
| Nemeth
25 |
Dimitrovski
63 |
| Turkey |
0-0 |
England |
11/10/03 |
| |
|
| Liechtenstein |
0-2 |
Slovakia |
11/10/03 |
| |
Vittek
40, 56 |
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