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OSAKA, Japan, June 23 - Turkey coach Senol Gunes could axe captain Hakan Sukur for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final against Brazil after yet another listless display by the out-of-sorts striker. Sukur was substituted in the second half of Turkey's 1-0 quarter-final victory over Senegal here Saturday for the livewire Ilhan Mansiz, who went on to score a superb winner.

The match-winning performance of Mansiz, whose pace and running off the ball gave Turkey a much sharper cutting edge up front, has given coach Gunes serious food for thought - and that could spell trouble for Sukur.

Though Gunes is a long-time friend and former international colleague of 31-year-old Parma player Sukur, he refused to confirm whether the veteran would be in the starting line-up against Brazil.

"We'll see in the upcoming days," Gunes said. "Hakan or Ilhan, both of them are ready to play. We'll see in the coming days in training who has the best condition, but I haven't decided yet," he said. Gunes said he had made the decision to replace Sukur against the Senegalese after watching the former Galatasaray and Inter Milan player squander a series of chances for the Turks.

"Hakan is our team captain and one of the most important players for us," Gunes said.

"He was trying hard to score but he was really unlucky in some situations.

"Even so, if he had stayed on the pitch any longer it could have demoralised both him and the team. Therefore I decided it was time to give Ilhan the chance," Gunes explained.

Sukur has struggled to recover from a thigh injury throughout the World Cup which has left him well short of the bustling form which earned him the nickname 'Bull of the Bosphorous'.

Against Senegal, his lack of confidence and composure in front of goal was highlighted by a bad miss in the 27th minute. A breakaway move ended with Hasan Sas squaring to Sukur just outside the six-yard box.

Unmarked and with nothing more to do than sidefoot the ball into the net, Sukur allowed it to slip under his foot and away to safety. Sukur went on to miss two more good chances and looked dejected when making way for Mansiz towards the end.

If Gunes decides to axe Sukur for what will be the biggest game of his career on Wednesday it will complete a miserable tournament for the player.

He is also reported to have alienated team-mates by blaming them for his poor form, accusing the Turkish midfield of selfishness. "I am mercilessly criticized... I cannot stand it anymore. I am fed up," Sukur said.

"It is true I was not able to create any goal opportunities. But look at that team. All players in the midfield think only about themselves. They play to show up and draw attention on themselves.

"How am I supposed to receive passes under such conditions?" he added.

Sukur said he had decided to play with the Turkish team in the qualifiers for the upcoming European championship, but would snub the finals if the team qualified.

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