By OZGUR AKMAN
Associated Press Sports
updated 6:45 p.m. ET Oct. 7, 2011
ISTANBUL (AP) -Thomas Mueller scored one goal and set up another as Germany won 3-1 away to Turkey in Group A on Friday to maintain its perfect record in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship.
Mario Gomez put Germany ahead in the 35th minute after being played in by Bayern Munich teammate Mueller, who made it 2-0 in the 66th. Turkey pulled one back in the 79th when Hakan Balta latched onto a delivery by Gokhan Gonul from six meters out but an 86th-minute penalty by Bastian Schweinsteiger sealed Germany's ninth win in qualifying.
Germany had already qualified for the finals in Poland and Ukraine. Turkey is down to third in the group behind Belgium, ahead of its final game at home to Azerbaijan.
Germany dominated possession in the opening minutes but it was the home side that created the first real chance. Midfielder Selcuk Inan provided a through ball for Hamit Altintop on the edge of the area in the fifth minute, but Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer turned his low shot away for a corner.
Selcuk then skied a shot from 15 yards (meters) shortly before Germany broke the deadlock.
Having caught Altintop's right-foot volley from a dozen meters out, Neuer threw a long ball out to Mueller who quickly found Gomez. The forward sidestepped Servet Cetin before finishing off with a left-foot drive for his fifth goal in qualifying.
Turkey came close to an equalizer in the 39th minute after a back-heel by Selcuk to Burak Yilmaz at the edge of the box but the shot by the forward floated over the bar.
Germany's second followed an another superb throw by Neuer that was collected by Mario Goetze. The midfielder slid the ball to Mueller on the right side of the area for a shot into the far corner.
Turkey pulled a goal back through Balta but Schweinsteiger's late penalty secured victory after Gonul tripped Mueller in the box.
"Turkey had good chances in the first half but we scored the opener," Germany coach Joachim Loew told Turkish channel NTV. "In the second half, we were the more dominant side. We also want to win on Tuesday (against Belgium) to make it 10 out of 10 in the qualifiers."
Turkey's coach Guus Hiddink said: "We could have done more if we had taken the two opportunities in the first 10 minutes. We have to win on Tuesday and normally Germany will win and we will get to qualify for the playoffs."
Turkey and Belgium are fighting to finish second and go through to the playoffs. Belgium is second after a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan with 15 points while Turkey is trailing by a point.
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Lineups:
Turkey: Volkan Demirel, Gokhan Gonul, Egemen Korkmaz, Servet Cetin, Hakan Balta, Mehmet Aurelio (Umut Bulut 87), Hamit Altintop, Selcuk Inan (Gokhan Tore 46) , Arda Turan (Kazim Kazim 70), Sabri Sarioglu, Burak Yilmaz
Germany: Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng (Benedikt Hoewedes 73), Per Mertesacker, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Goetze (Marco Reus 89), Lukas Podolski (Andre Schuerrle 62), Mario Gomez
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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