England's embattled footballers arrived in Turkey on Thursday for today's decisive Euro 2004 qualifier against the World Cup semifinalists.
The England squad, including captain David Beckham, flew in to Istanbul airport, leaving behind a storm of criticism over their threat to boycott the fixture.
British newspapers were vociferous in their condemnation of the players, who had voted to go on strike after defender Rio Ferdinand was omitted from the squad after he failed to attend a drugs test last month.
PHOTO: AFP
They reversed their decision on Wednesday after a day of tense talks at their training base.
On arrival in Istanbul, a group of around 100 Turkish fans chanted: "This is Turkey. There is no way out," as the players emerged from the airport while police linked hands to prevent any confrontations.
The tightest security was reserved for Beckham, whose arrival was greeted with a mixture of cheering and booing.
His bodyguards blocked a young girl seeking an autograph from approaching the midfielder but Beckham later relented and she was brought over to the England team coach to meet him.
Student Mehmet Sen, 21, brought a bouquet of red and white flowers to give to the England squad.
"I have brought these flowers to show the English they have nothing to fear and that the game should be played in a gentlemanly fashion," he said.
Security concerns have raised the stakes after a history of trouble between fans from the two countries. England have warned their supporters to stay away for fear that more crowd trouble could lead to a UEFA ban.
Turkish passport officials earlier turned back two England fans who were apparently hoping to see the game. It was not clear whether they were on a list of more than 1,000 known troublemakers provided to local authorities by British police.
Fearing any UEFA sanction itself, Turkey's Football Federation has warned fans that bad behavior at the match will be punished.
The federation said police would confiscate any objects that could be used as projectiles, ranging from mobile phones and cigarette lighters to bottles and umbrellas.
England, who top Group Seven with 19 points, must avoid defeat in Istanbul to qualify automatically for next year's finals in Portugal.
Turkey must win if they are to avoid having to qualify through next month's playoffs.
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