Euro 2008 – Germany vs Turkey
What a rollercoaster! Germany, having played so convincingly against Portugal seemed never to find their form in the first half. In fact, the official match statistics indicating almost equal possession by both teams simply didn’t ring true: the Germans were lucky not to concede at least two goals very early on.
The team from Turkey constantly maintained pressure and Lehmann did some great work in saving all manner of attempts by them to score a goal. His unfortunate fumble that led to the 1:0 for Turkey was hugely disappointing. Then, the equalizer barely four minutes later. When the second half started, the Germans showed more commitment. A blatant foul on the edge of the penalty area was disregarded by the referee. That should have been a penalty, or at the very least a yellow card and a free kick. A lucky break for Turkey! A 2:1 by Germany seemed to make things somewhat safer, but never to be outdone, the second goal by Turkey almost guaranteed extra time.
With great relief, I experienced the goal by Lahm barely 40 seconds before full time. Retribution for his foul earlier that half and the Germans get to play in the final!
Germany 3 : 
Turkey 2
Not a convincing performance, but in the end, Germany won. Germany always technically superior forced the Turkish players to resort to rough, chaotic play when the chips where down. Turkey has proven it has the mettle for international competition. Now, they need to clean up their act.
My team goes forward to the final on Sunday, to meet either Spain or Russia.
