UEFA European Championship 2008 Semi-Final Preview

Straight from theondeckcircle.net - By Mostafa El Beheiry

The quarter-finals followed up the group stage with some heartbreaking results with three of the four results considered upsets in addition to going to extra-time. The Germans “upset” Portugal 3-2 – they were underdogs based only on their runner-up status after the group stage, I don’t think anyone with a brain would have been able to pick an outright favorite for that tie. The same couldn’t be said about Croatia and Turkey, where everyone and their mother (except the Turks) expected Croatia to advance handedly. With the Croatian go-ahead and Turkish equalizing goals coming at 119 and 120 minutes of extra-time respectively, the Turks, with their never say die philosophy, advanced on penalties. The high flying Dutch from the group stage were nowhere to be seen against Guus Hiddink’s Russia, who advance to the semis to face a Spanish side that finally expelled their international tournament demons by beating Italy on penalties. I went 2-2 on the quarters with no success in picking scorelines, so here’s hoping my luck improves for the semis.

Germany vs. Turkey, June 25
Germany are the clear favorites for this match up but apparently that’s an ambiguous classification when you’re playing Turkey in these Euros, who were come back winners against Switzerland, the Czech Republic and, of course, Croatia. Will the Turkish train keep on rolling or will Germany be the couch on the tracks? I’m leaning towards the latter as surely this will finally be Turkey’s swan song.

Keys to German Success
• Avoid being overconfident: The players blamed there upset loss to Croatia in the group stage on overconfidence and if they go into this game in the same frame of mind, they could be in store for a repeat. Don’t count on it though, no doubt the Germans learned from their blunder against the Croats and will be focused on only one outcome against Turkey.
• Don’t fix what ain’t broken: The starting XI that beat Portugal should not be altered. Defensively they were stellar; did anyone notice Cristiano Ronaldo when he wasn’t crying after a tap on the foot? No. Bastian Schweinsteiger, arguably the most German sounding name on the roster, had a stellar performance coming off of his suspension, netting a goal and delivering the crosses that led to Germany’s two other goals. He was in at the expense of the defensively minded Clemens Fritz who shouldn’t be too badly needed against the Turks.

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