Turkey wins! Tur-kiii-ye... Tur-kiii-ye...
An amazing showing from the Turkish national team that makes me proud!
Czechs floored by Turkey turnaround
by Peter Sanderson from Stade de Genève
Two late Nihat Kahveci strikes booked ten-man Turkey a place in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2008™ in an exhilarating climax to their Group A match against Czech Republic in Geneva. Gripping finale Jan Koller gave the Czechs a 34th-minute advantage with a thumping header before Jaroslav Plašil turned in Libor Sionko’s cross to double the lead two minutes past the hour. Turkey gave themselves a fighting chance thanks to Arda Turan’s low effort before Nihat capitalised on a Petr Čech mistake to level three minutes from time. With a penalty shoot-out looming, Nihat galloped clear to send Turkey through with a spectacular finish, although there was still time for goalkeeper Volkan Demirel to be sent off for shoving Koller. Tuncay Şanlı took the gloves as Fatih Terim’s men set up a quarter-final against Croatia.