Match Day: Turkiye vs. Moldova

Match Day: Turkiye vs. Moldova

By Nathan L. Redd

With time running out on their Euro 2008 qualification hopes, Turkiye's Milli Takim takes to the pitch on Saturday in a must-win game against Moldova. Fatih Terim's bunch has an opportunity to pick up six points in the next week and move back into a comfortable position within Group C.

After eight games, Turkiye has seventeen points and sit in third place in Group C. They can move into second place ahead of Norway, who also has seventeen points through nine games. A win against Moldova and another win against rivals Greece could put Turkiye back into the driver's seat for Euro 2008 qualification.

The last time Turkiye and Moldova met, the Turks put a 5-0 beatdown on their opponents behind four goals from Hakan Sukur. Moldova, however, has been a tough opponent on their home pitch. They drew with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Moldova, and just barely missed out on points against Greece and Norway.

Elsewhere in Group C, Greece plays host to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Greece holds a slim two-point lead over Turkiye, a lead that could easily change pending Saturday's results.

The roster for the games vs. Moldova and Greece is:

Fenerbahce: Mehmet Aurelio, Volkan Demirel, Tümer Metin

Galatasaray: Servet Çetin, Arda Turan, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Karan, Volkan Yaman

Besiktas: Hakan Arıkan, İbrahim Üzülmez, İbrahim Toraman, Gökhan Zan

Trabzonspor: Hüseyin Çimşir, Gökdeniz Karadeniz

Kayserispor: Gökhan Ünal, Mehmet Topuz

Ankaraspor: Necati Ateş, Emre Aşık

Sivasspor: Mehmet Yıldız

Ankaragucu: Serkan Kırıntılı

Vestel Manisaspor: Selçuk İnan

Bayern Munich: Hamit Altıntop

Newcastle United: Emre Belözoğlu

Middlesbrough: Tuncay Şanlı

Kickoff is at 14:00 (2 PM EST in the U.S.) live from Moldova.