Turkey - Expiry date: 25/6/2008

It had to happen eventually. Turkey had thrilled us three games in a row. Surely it couldn't happen a fourth time?

It very nearly did. Turkey had a decimated squad missing 9 players through injury and suspension. Unsurprisingly, Germany were the overwhelming favourites to progress to the final. Turkey, however, had ideas of their own. The 3-2 loss was harsh on them as they deserved to take the match through to extra time at the very least. They completely outplayed the Germans in the first half, catching them off guard with their attacking play. Kazım Kazım was desperately unlucky to see his shot cannon off the crossbar with Jens Lehmann well beaten. He hit the bar a second time with a scuffed, looping shot and Uğur Boral somehow managed to turn in the rebound. Germany's equaliser came through their first real attack on the Turkish goal, Lukas Podolski sending in a low cross which Bastian Schweinsteiger expertly flicked home, using the outside of his right boot. The second half was less of an attacking spectacle although Lehmann continued to make saves and Turkey continued to have shots on target. However, Rüştü Reçber horrific mistake looked to have lost the game for Turkey when Miroslav Klose beat the keeper to the ball and headed into an unguarded net. The never say die attitude of the Turks brought them level when Semih Şentürk struck in the 86th minute to revive Turkish hopes once more. Extra time loomed but Philipp Lahm's one two with Thomas Hitzlsperger settled the contest in the final minute, Lahm finishing at Rüştü's near post, with the keeper at fault once again for going to ground too early and exposing his near post.

Turkey had 17 shots in total, of which 11 were on target. Germany had 7, of which 3 were on target. And those 3 shots resulted in Germany's 3 goals which sent them to the final. Turkey have every right to feel hard done as their enterprise did not bring about the reward they so richly deserved. However, with a European Championship semifinal under their belt, to go along with their 3rd place at the 2002 World Cup, they can now claim to be one of football's leading nations. Many of their players are surely bound for bigger leagues in Europe after the tournament concludes. Reports are already linking Arda Turan with Juventus and expect many more similar reports involving his teammates. Their fighting spirit was their standout quality and Turkey can be proud for providing the watching world with 4 memorable games and they will surely build on this and hopefully go one step further in the next tournament in 2 years time. Fatih Terim was full of praise for the Germans but he must be wondering how it is not Turkey that will be lining up in the final on Sunday. "I am proud of my players for showing the world what good players they are," he said. The watching world has been given ample evidence of that.

Germany must be relieved more than anything. Their 3 goals were the only 3 shots they had on target all game. Their ruthless finishing only underlined what a quality team they are as well. They may have survived the Turkish onslaught on their off day but they must now regroup and shift up a few gears if they are to lift the trophy on Sunday. Their players will need no further reminders and motivation for the prize at stake. Joachim Löw said, "We were worried, but we were lucky to score in the 90th minute. Congratulations to Turkey for a fantastic show." Easy to be full of praise for your opponents when you have triumphed. Germany would have had no reason for complaint had they been on the wrong end of that scoreline. They were second best on the day but they will now contest who the best team in Europe will be on Sunday. Football is harsh but the Germans won't mind in the slightest and the competition's most successful side ever will now be full of confidence of adding to their trophy cabinet.

Their opponents will be either Russia or Spain, due to play in a few hours. I will not predict this game as anything can happen. It's extremely even and a repeat of Spain's 4-1 win in the group stage is extremely unlikely. The Russians have improved massively, with a large chunk of that credit going to Andrei Arshavin. Spain have quality all over the park and an off day can be glossed over with a moment of magic from one of their many talents. I will be supporting the Russians, simply based on their underdog status and their brand of football. Also because there is a need for an underdog in Sunday's final. Underdogs who play their more illustrious opponents off the park. A dream for any neutral. I have a feeling that Spain will go through but I'm hoping the hunch is wrong. Good luck to Russia and may Arshavin justify my decision to sleep at 5am again. He's been subject of an official approach by Barcelona and hopefully he proves why tonight.

And a quick rant about the transmission interruptions. It's quite unbelievable that UEFA would be so underprepared for such an event. Apparently they've now got backups for the generator backups should the power cuts occur again. Well it's too late now isn't it? Why wasn't that implemented in the first place? We're not going to see the best 10 minutes of Turkey vs Germany live again now are we? Not good enough and they've been left with egg on their face. Deserved.