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Turkey end Japan's Cup dreams

Davala's header sails past a helpless Narazaki

MIYAGI, Japan (CNN) -- Turkey are through to a World Cup quarter-final showdown against Senegal after ending the World Cup dreams of co-hosts Japan with a 1-0 at Miyagi on Tuesday.

Umit Davala handed Turkey their ticket into the last eight when he rose unmarked to put away a straightforward header from a Ergun Penbe corner kick in the 12th minute.

Davala's goal -- his second in the tournament -- flew to the right of a helpless Seigo Narazaki and stunned the 45,666-mostly Japanese crowd who were hoping to see Japan's World Cup fairytale continue.

It was the first goal Japan conceded in three games, but enough to send Turkey to the quarter-finals for the first time in history.

Amid torrential rain that continued throughout the match, Japan began clearly nervous with mistakes dominating their back half.

The home side failed to show much of the sparkle that took the Asian nation to the second round for the first time in their history.

By comparison, Turkey always looked in control.

Runners up in Group A, the Turks almost made it 2-0 on the break when Hasan Sas fired wide from the edge of the box after a knock-down from Hakan Sukur.

Japan pressed on and almost drew level when Alex curled a left-foot free-kick against the angle of post and bar four minutes before half-time.

Both teams looked dangerous in the second half, with Japan enjoying most of the possession but struggling to break through the Turkish defense nor get past goalkeeper Rustu Recber.

The local team could not find any inspiration from its stars Hidetoshi Nakata and Junichi Inamoto and made several passing errors, frequently surrendering the initiative to the Turks.

Japanese center forward Akinori Nishizawa, making his first appearance since a appendix operation last month, failed to find the net on three occasions in the half. His last attempt, in the 90th minute, flew high and wide of the goal to deny Japan a last minute equalizer

The win takes Turkey to the quarter-finals for the first time. They will take on Senegal, which beat Sweden 2-1 with a golden goal, at Osaka on Saturday.

Despite the loss Japan can still hold their heads high.

Coach Philippe Troussier's team achieved the best World Cup performance by Japan, winning two games to top their group and go through the second round.

Though no host had failed to make the second round in the tournament's history, Japan did not win a game in their World Cup debut four years earlier in France.

South Korea, the other World Cup co-host, make their bid for the quarter-finals berth when they meet Italy later Tuesday in Daejon.

Starting line-ups

Japan: Seigo Narazaki; Naoki Matsuda, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Koji Nakata, Tomokazu Myojin, Junichi Inamoto, Hidetoshi Nakata, Kazuyuki Toda, Shinji Ono; Alex, Akinori Nishizawa.

Turkey: Rustu Recber; Fatih Akyel, Bulent Korkmaz, Alpay Ozalan, Hakan Unsal, Umit Davala, Tugay Kerimoglu, Yildiray Basturk, Ergun Penbe, Hasan Sas, Hakan Sukur.

Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)