More Thoughts on Euro 2008

We Should Have Welcomed You, Bros: Germany will lose to Turkey in the semi-final of the Euro 2008. Remember how Germany's Lukas Podolski, their Polish-born striker, was instrumental in sealing its Group B win against Poland? Germany rarely calls up any German-born players with Turkish ancestry to the national team. My bet is: Hamit Altintop, one of two German-born players on the Turkish squad (defender Hakan Balta being the other), will score the winning goal (in the last minute, no less) to secure Turkey their first ever final place in a major soccer tournament.

Marco's (Too) Quick Reflexes: When Khalid Boulahrouz, just days after the death of his prematurely born daughter, was cautioned early in the second half against Russia in the quarter-final, Dutch coach Marco Van Basten immediately replaced him with fellow defender Johnny Heitinga. It may have prevented the Dutch from going a man down (and given Boulahrouz a much needed rest), but it did cost them the match as the Dutch defence was visibly exhausted by the amazing pace of the Russians. And in hindsight, the three Dutch substitutes (Robin Van Persie, Ibrahim Afellay and Heitinga) all fared worse than the players they substituted (Dirk Kuyt, Orlando Engelaar and Boulahrouz).

Down But Definitely Not Out: History predicted that Spain should have lost to Italy as they always crashed out of a major tournament on penalties on June 22 (they lost to Belgium and South Korea in World Cup 1986 and 2002 respectively, and fell victim to England in Euro 1996). Had they lost that match, all the group winners would have lost in the first knockout stage. If history holds true from now on, it would not be good news for Spain, the sole surviving group winner. The last two European Championships were won by a team that came second in their group and had lost a group match in the process (France in 2000, and Greece in 2004).

The Precision of Turkish Watches: One minute was added to the end of extra time in the game between Croatia and Turkey. And when Semih Senturk's speculative shot hit the back of the net, the clock shown by the local TV broadcast read exactly 121:00. Not a second earlier, not a second later.