Coach Fatih Terim was pleased with Turkey's display after they drew 2-2 with a Belarus team who had defeated the Netherlands in their final UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier in November.
Icy conditions
Turkey twice went behind in icy conditions in Minsk but Tuncay Şanlı and Tümer Metin scored the goals which earned the EURO finalists a share of the spoils. The result was not a problem for Terim, who said: "Let's not get ahead of ourselves – remember that Belarus beat the Dutch in qualifying. We wanted this game to keep our squad in shape before 11 May, when the Turkish Süper Lig season ends. The competition and effort on the pitch was quite high for both teams. I wanted to rest some players because in these friendlies I want to see the condition of all of my players."
Two debutants
Of those players, defender Ceyhun Gülselam – a debutant along with Mevlüt Erdinç – and forward Nihat Kahveci received a special mention. "Ceyhun's performance made us very happy and there's no hiding the fact that I am pleased with Nihat's fine display," said the 54-year-old. "We have to remember that it's not easy to take part in these kind of games."
Exciting times
Nihat, the Villarreal CF striker who stood in as captain in Belarus, added: "New players are joining our team and I can understand their excitement. It's not an easy thing to play your first match in such conditions. And as for the game itself, I would say if you can't win, don't get beaten."
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