Euro Wrap: Semifinals, Germany vs. Turkey

A brief summary of Germany-Turkey:

Football that’s fun to watch. Both teams on the attack. The lead going back and forth, each goal answered by another, right up until the whistle blows. And solid performances by both teams, with just enough little errors to keep things interesting. And let’s not forget weather that makes the broadcast as unpredictable as the play on the field.

What a game!

Summary and video after the jump.

SEMI-FINAL 1	June 25th, 2045 CET, Basel (Switzerland)
Germany 3 VS Turkey 2 Schweinsteiger 26′ Klose 78′ Lahm 89′   Borel 22′, Senturk 86′

Expectations for Turkey weren’t high coming into this game. It wasn’t their skills or abilities that had people doubting. They’d proved in their earlier games that they had what it takes to win against strong opponents.

Instead it was the jaw-dropping number of names on their list of injured and suspended players. They were missing key team members from every area of the field, from striker (Nihat Kahveci was injured) to goalkeeper (Volkan Demeril was suspended) and everywhere in between.

And yet Turkey was the team that came out looking more threatening from the opening whistle. And in the 22nd minute it paid off. Kazim Kazim sent it off the crossbar, but it rebounded right to Ugur Boral’s feet, and he was only too happy to make Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann look silly as he sent it into the goal:

But Germany responded four minutes later, entirely against the run of play, when Bastian Schweinsteiger received a perfect ball from Lukas Podolski and sent it home from an impossible angle:

Things then stayed level for more than fifty minutes. Turkey was the better team in the first half, but Germany came out for the second half ready to fight for it. They probably should have gotten a penalty in the early minutes of the half, but there was no whistle.

And then lightning struck in Austria, knocking out the TV feed to most of the world. So almost everyone outside of the stadium missed what happened next.

Miroslav Klose caught Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber in no-man’s land in the 78th minute and used the opportunity to deliver a perfect header, making the score 2-1 Germany:

But Semih Senturk’s response was to provide an even bigger dose of humiliation to Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. He received the ball from Sabri Sarioglu by practically stealing it out of Lehmann’s hands to score this goal. Germany 2-2 Turkey.

But in the end, in the 90th minute, Philip Lahm got in the last word, making up for earlier defensive errors with a gorgeous run up the left, then a nice little one-two with a player in think was Thomas Hitzlsperger, before giving Germany the winning goal:

Quite ironic to see the Turks lose to a last-minute goal after doing the same thing three times to other teams, no? And Germany heads to the finals.

But in the end, the Turks have a lot to be proud of. With their huge roster of injuries and suspensions, few people expected them to put up much of a fight. And yet they managed to deliver one of the most exciting games of the tournament, and they played in a way that will keep people talking for years.

Fatih Terim and the boys may be heading home, but they can do it with their heads held high.