Five Things We Learned in Swissastria, June 15

1. Demirel Volkan is a LOT stronger than he looks
The Turkish keeper gave big Jan Koller a very small push, but Big Jan went down as if hit by a truck. Think he was looking for a pen, but the ball was out of play.

2. Never say never
With about twenty minutes of Czech Republic vs Turkey to go, and Czech Republic winning 2-0, here’s what I wrote in the LiveBlog…

69′ Hate to say it, but I feel like this is over.

Wrong.

3. UEFA heart Nihat
Fatih Terim didn’t look too happy when UEFA’s fourth official wouldn’t let him sub Emre Asik on for injured defender Emre Gungor. And he looked downright murderous when Plasil scored from the area Asik would have been standing had he been allowed on. Without Nihat’s brace, Turkey would have gone out to that Plasil goal and UEFA would have faced some serious hate mail.

4. Co-hosting was worthwhile after all
The Swiss may be going/staying home now Group A is over, but at least the co-hosts have their first ever European Championships win. They beat Portugal (B) 2-0 with Hakan Yakin getting both goals. Seems Turkish braces were very fashionable today.

5. The linesman’s flags are broken
Metaphorically in the Switzerland vs Portugal game, as Helder Postiga had a goal wrongly ruled offside. But literally in the Czech Republic vs Turkey game, where the lino flagged so hard he broke the handle and had to get it replaced.