Despite determined play, a last minute German winner sinks Turkish hopes of making it to the final in Vienna
Thursday 26th June 2008
Germany has made it into the final of the Euro 2008 soccer tournament after defeating Turkey in the semi-finals thanks to a last-minute winner from defender Philipp Lahm.
Underdog Turkey were listed at odds of 39/5 to win last night by OddsChecker.com but took the lead after 22 minutes with a goal from midfider Ugur Boral. However, the team that had defeated Croatia on penalties in the quarterfinals was able to hold on to its lead for only four minutes as Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised from close range.
Turkey battled hard and looked the better of the two sides for long periods but striker Miroslav Klose headed Germany in front after 79 minutes against the run of play, sending the thousands of Germans who had crowded into Basel’s St Jakob-Park into ectasy.
Known at these championships for its never-say-die attitude, the Turkish team continued to play well and got their reward only four minutes from full time when Semih Senturk scored off a Sabri Sarıoglu cross.
But, Germany, listed as 4/9 favourites, showed that the bookmakers know what they are doing when Lahm stole in on Thomas Hitzlsperger's pass to beat Turkish goalkeeper Rustu Recber and give the Germans victory.
Germany will now appear in its sixth Euro final on Sunday in Vienna against either Spain or Russia who play later tonight. Spain are listed at odds of 6/5 by OddsChecker.com to prevail against the Russians while those betting on Russia making it through to the final can only do as good as 3/1. However, should the semi-final follow three of the quarterfinals and finish tied after 90 minutes, PinnacleSports.com is offering odds of 61/17.
Germany remains the bookmakers’ favourite to win the competition at odds of 11/10 with WillHill.com while Spain is second at odds of 7/4. Those looking to make some money could look to ExtraBet.com who has shortened Russia’s odds of making it into the final from 15/4 to 7/2.
