SEOUL, 3 June 2004 — A first-half goal from Hakan Sukur gave Turkey a 1-0 win over South Korea yesterday in the first of two friendlies.

South Korea, still looking for a full-time coach after Humberto Coelho quit in April, dominated for long spells in Seoul in a rematch of the 2002 World Cup third-place playoff which Turkey won 3-2.

The home team started brightly, with Lee Eul-yong and defender Cho Byung-kuk going close in the first 10 minutes but they were often caught out by the pace of their opponents.

Turkey exposed South Korean defensive frailties in the 22nd minute when Okan Buruk’s flighted ball into the box found Sukur in space and the Galatasaray striker calmly beat Lee Woon-jae. It was his 44th goal in 94 games for Turkey.

With captain Yoo Sang-chul, Park Ji-sung and key defender Kim Tae-young missing, South Korea struggled to cope with the aerial threat posed by the visitors.

Struggling England Held to 1-1 Draw by Japan

A lackluster England had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Japan on Tuesday after being outshone in a pre-Euro 2004 friendly.

Striker Michael Owen poached his 25th goal for England in the 22nd minute, but midfielder Shinji Ono deservedly leveled in the 53rd as part of a convincing second-half display by the Japanese.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ended doubts over who would be his first choice for the defensive role in midfield at Euro 2004 by selecting Frank Lampard ahead of Nicky Butt.

Whatever the tactics, however, Eriksson clearly needs England to move up a few gears on their display at the City of Manchester stadium, where Japan looked by far the sharper and more fluid side.

Worse still for Eriksson, as he prepares for England’s Euro 2004 tournament opener against France in Lisbon on June 13, was an injury near the end which forced right back Gary Neville to make way for his brother Phil.

England started well and showed plenty of enthusiasm, but were not helped by a flat performance from Owen’s strike partner Wayne Rooney and some wayward shooting from Paul Scholes. They gradually faded as the game wore on, leaving Eriksson with plenty of food for thought before Saturday’s final pre-tournament friendly here against Iceland.

Dutch Beat Faroes but Fail to Impress

In Amsterdam, three days after a 1-0 home defeat against Belgium, the Netherlands disappointed again on Tuesday by failing to impress in a 3-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2004 warm up match in Lausanne.

Coach Dick Advocaat paired strikers Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert up front together for the first time since the 1-0 playoff first-leg defeat against Scotland in November, with Rafael van der Vaart supporting as an attacking midfielder.

The front two failed to click, with an out-of-sorts Kluivert producing a performance that could persuade coach Dick Advocaat to leave him out for the Netherlands’ first Group D game against Germany on June 15.

Van der Vaart opened the scoring after half an hour with a shot from just outside the box.

Advocaat made 10 substitutions at halftime and his new-look side carried a greater threat after the break with wingers Marc Overmars and Andy van der Meyde providing much-needed width.

Overmars played a major part in the second goal and scored the third.

His cross on 51 minutes was converted by Roy Makaay and eight minutes later his shot was deflected in to seal victory.