SAITAMA, Japan, 26 June — Brazil believe they will have overcome the most difficult obstacle standing between them and a record fifth World Cup if they beat underdogs Turkey in the semifinals here today.

Only a dubious penalty prevented the Turks from snatching a draw against the Brazilians when the two sides met in the first round’s Group C, an ill-tempered tussle eventually won 2-1 by the South Americans.

While Brazil have since gone on to confirm their status as favorites for the title, maintaining a 100 percent record through to the last four, the escape against Turkey remains fresh in the memory. Turkey’s compact, well-organized side asked awkward questions of the South Americans’ defense on the counterattack and are perfectly equipped to find the sort of holes on the flanks that often pop up against teams like Brazil who employ a three-man defensive unit.

“I think the semifinal will be more difficult to get through than the final,” Brazilian wing back Roberto Carlos said. “The first game against Turkey was the toughest battle we have had here and we know we will have to be very, very careful if we are to get past them again. The room for error will be minimal, if not non-existent.” “The important thing for us is to stay calm and ensure that we are at the top of our game against Turkey. Both teams are playing a lot better collectively than in the group games and if we are not at our very best we will not win anything.”

Juninho, who is expected to replace suspended midfielder Ronaldinho for today’s game, believes that while Turkey could cause problems Brazil must not be suckered into changing their style.

“It’s a difficult game — I think more difficult than the first one,” the former Middlesbrough man said. “They are playing well, they have good players and are confident.

“We have to attack, we have to play the same way and look for the goals, it is what we do best,” he said. “But Brazil must defend well. Our defenders have been brilliant in the last two games, so I hope they can keep it up because Turkey have some very good footballers.”

Rivaldo, who goes into the match as joint tournament top-scorer with Ronaldo and Germany’s Miroslav Klose on five goals, believes the semifinal is a chance to settle a score.

“We won the first match because we were better, not because of the referee or an invented penalty,” said Rivaldo, who sparked uproar in the earlier game after helping get Hakan Unsal sent off by pretending he had been hit in the face when the Turkish player kicked the ball at his legs.

“This is a chance for us to prove we are better than them.”

The incoming Juninho aside, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is expected to name an unchanged starting lineup against Turkey, with Inter Milan star Ronaldo confident of starting. Ronaldo suffered a thigh strain during the quarterfinal win over England and was replaced after an hour but has recovered well and should play.

Turkey coach Senol Gunes meanwhile is on the horns of a dilemma concerning the form of captain and striker Hakan Sukur. Sukur was substituted during Turkey’s 1-0 win over Senegal last Saturday, having missed a handful of gilt-edged chances to win the match.

Sukur’s replacement, the German-raised Ilhan Mansiz, immediately gave Turkey a sharper cutting edge up front and scored the winning golden goal in extra time to put the Turks through.

Gunes is a long-time friend and former international colleague of 31-year-old Parma player Sukur and now must decide whether to dump the erstwhile ‘Bull of the Bosphorous’ for what is the biggest match in Turkish football history.

Whether to drop Sukur is the only issue for Gunes to decide on. The Turks will again be without defender Hakan Unsal for the match, who has failed to shake off a niggling knee injury. The rancorous nature of the opening game has motivated Turkey who feel they have a point to prove.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if the referee had been fair to both teams we would have won that match,” said influential defender Alpay, who was sent off in the opening game for the foul outside the area which led to the decisive penalty. The center-back said he had no problem with his own red card. “But the whole world could see that Hakan’s was not a red card and that the referee should not have given a penalty.”

Striker Hasan Sas said the Turks had shown they were good enough to match Brazil.

“We are not intimidated,” he said. “We know they are a great side with talented individuals but we also have some great individual talents.

“It will be the team who plays better on the day that will make the final.”

History stands in Turkey’s way against Brazil

History shows that it takes an established soccer heavyweight to knock four-time winners Brazil out of the World Cup.

Turkey, who have never won a major trophy and are playing in the tournament for only the second time, will try to buck that trend when they tackle the crowd-pleasing South Americans in an intriguing semifinal today.

Brazil, the most successful side in World Cup history, won the tournament in 1958, 1962, 1970 and 1994.

Discounting the first two World Cups in 1930 and 1934 — 10 Brazil players made their debuts in their 1930 defeat by Yugoslavia — the list of teams to eliminate Brazil from the tournament reads like a who’s who of great teams from yesteryear.

In 1938 Italy knocked Brazil out in the semifinals with a 2-1 victory and went on to lift the trophy.

On home soil in 1950 Brazil only needed a draw in the final match against Uruguay, the 1930 winners, to clinch their first World Cup triumph. But they lost 2-1 to their bitter South American rivals in front of a 174,000 crowd in Rio’s Maracana Stadium. Four years later Olympic champions Hungary, inspired by Ferenc Puskas, dumped Brazil out at the quarterfinal stage after the infamous ‘Battle of Berne’ in Switzerland, when three players were sent off and a changing-room punch-up followed the game.

In England in 1966, Eusebio’s Portugal inflicted the fatal defeat on a disappointing Brazil side seeking a third successive triumph. Brazil had already lost to Hungary again when the Portuguese, who went on to reach the semifinals where they lost to eventual winners England, beat them 3-1 in the first round.

In 1974 Brazil arrived in Germany as holders again having completed their hat trick in thrilling fashion four years earlier in Mexico.

This time it took a 2-0 second-round defeat by Johan Cruyff’s Total Footballers from the Netherlands, who eventually lost in the final, to stifle the Samba beat.

Four years later in Argentina, Brazil did not lose a game but were eliminated in dubious circumstances when the hosts and eventual winners, with whom Brazil had drawn 0-0, defeated Peru 6-0 in their final game of the second group phase.

In 1982 Paolo Rossi’s hat trick gave Italy a thrilling 3-2 second round victory over an immensely talented Brazil side featuring the likes of Zico, Socrates and Eder. Italy went on to complete the third of their three World Cup triumphs.

Michel Platini’s France, the 1984 European champions, conquered Brazil in the 1986 quarterfinals in Mexico after a penalty shootout following a pulsating 1-1 draw.

In 1990 a Claudio Caniggia strike gave Argentina, eventual finalists, a 1-0 second round victory over their South American neighbors.

After their 1994 triumph in the United States, Brazil collapsed 3-0 in the final at the 1998 tournament to hosts France, a final overshadowed by a mystery illness that affected Brazilian striker Ronaldo.

In the end, there are two ways of looking at Turkey’s task at Saitama Stadium today. Either they must break the sequence. Or they must prove that they, too, are a great side.