Germany reached the semifinal stage of Euro 2008 by a convincing 3-2 victory against tournament favorites Portugal, fuelling up the team’s confidence in adding more glory to this three-time European title winner.
Coach Joachim Loew will return to the coach zone after the ban of one match, who would also happy to see an aspiring team free of injury as midfielder Torsten Frings has recovered from broken rib.
However, Turkey had turned around the last three games with late goals at the cost of red and yellow card punishments and injuries.
For Wednesday’s clash with Germany, Turkey coach Fatih Terim would have a depleted team at his hands as nine players would be barred for Turkey’s first-ever Euro semifinal because of card punishments or injuries.
The quartet of Volkan Demirel, Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asli are suspended while striker Nihat Kahveci followed Emre Gungoer in departing the tournament injured after the quarterfinal shootout triumph against Croatia.
Midfielder Tumer Metin may be fit for involvement but Servet Cetin and Emre Beloezoglu are still struggling which means just 13 outfield players are available for action.
On Monday, the UEFA Appeals Body has rejected the appeal made by the Turkish Football Association, and goalkeeper Volkan Demirelwould be banned for Wednesday’s semifinal for his red card against the Czech Republic.
Loew, who had coached Turkish clubs Fenerbahce SK and AdanasporAS, admitted he was impressed by the strides taken by Terim’s team.
“We have no worries about injured players, we are confident in our strengths,” said Loew.
However, there is some suspense left for Wednesday’s game.
First is Germany’s starting lineup. During the past four games, Loew had tried several lineups, what are the next?
Bremen striker Mario Gomez was kicked out at quarterfinal match after non-score performance in three group games, Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger turned into a hero at quarterfinal against Portugal after losing seats in lineup at group stage, and Torsten Frings has recovered from injury.
As Germans have already casted eyes on the final, the semifinal is a chance for Loew to test the team’s formation and lineup.
Should Loew retain the 4-2-3-1 system employed so effectively against Portugal, this would mean a place on the bench for Thomas Hitzlsperger or Simon Rolfes.
The second suspense is whether Bayern striker Lukas Podolski, who has scored three goals so far, would earn more scores in the semifinal so as to compete for the tournament title of top scorer.
Currently, Podolski is lagged behind Spanish striker David Villa by mere one goal. Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko boasts same three goals with Podolski.
The third suspense is whether there is the possibility that Germany would lose the semifinal to handicapped Turkey?
Turkey had already upset the last three games, why don’t they make a fourth?
During their latest clash in 2005, Germany were beaten by 2-1.
“We have courage and believe in our chances,” said Turkey coach Fatih Terim on Tuesday.
“We respect Germany but we are not afraid of them, just as we’ve not been afraid of any other opponent,” he added.
German team are all too aware of Turkey’s never-say-die spirit which has removed Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Croatia so far from the tournament in spectacularly late style.
“We have seen how strong the Turks have become in the tournament,” Loew warned.
“Turkey is tactically, technically and individually not better than us. But it is unpredictable and no one of us will underestimate it…It will be a tough task but we have a big chance to reach the final,” said Germany captain Michael Ballack.
“We go into the game to win. It doesn’t matter who is the favorite or who is suspended. We have a good chance to make final if we play like against Portugal,” said Podolski.
In addition, Wednesday’s game is a local derby as Germany is home to more than two million people of Turkish origin.
What’s more, Turkey squad members Hamit Altintop and Hakan Balta were born in Germany and played soccer for Gelsenkirchen and Berlin, respectively.
When Turkey qualified for the semifinals, fireworks exploded in the sky over Berlin and other cities as tens of thousands of people celebrated in the streets.
Therefore, there is no suspense that celebrations would be staged across Germany on Wednesday night.