Czech Republic v Turkey, 15 June 2008

Score3-2 to Turkey
RefereePeter Frojdfeldt
CompetitionUEFA European Championship Finals Group A
VenueStade de Genève, Geneva
Attendance29,016
Kick-Off: 8.45pm local Assistant referees: Stefan Wittberg (Sweden) Henrik Andrén (Sweden) Fourth official: Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland) Man of the Match: Nihat Kahveci (Turkey) Two late Nihat Kahveci strikes booked ten-man Turkey a place in the UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals in an exhilarating climax to their Group A match against Czech Republic in Geneva. Jan Koller gave the Czechs a 34th-minute advantage with a thumping header and 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 spot kicks looming, Nihat galloped clear to send Turkey through with a spectacular finish, although there was still time for 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. The teams kicked off with identical records and a draw would have necessitated a penalty shoot-out to decide who took second place behind Portugal – an outcome both coaches were anxious to avoid. Karel Brückner started with Koller up front, and his height ensured the Czechs had the better of the opening period, with Tomáš Ujfaluši launching long passes forward for him to knock down to Libor Sonko and Plašil. Such direct tactics nearly paid dividends as Sionko headed Marek Jankulovski's free-kick wide. Koller was causing havoc every time the Czech Republic pushed forward, steering one header narrowly over before finding Marek Matějovský for an attempt that was well dealt with by Volkan. Turkey were struggling to get into the game but finally registered their first effort on goal when a Tuncay strike fizzed wide of Čech's upright, although it was the Czechs who continued to look the more likely to make the crucial breakthrough. That opening goal eventually arrived in the 34th minute from a predictable source as Zdeněk Grygera escaped down the right to deliver a perfect cross for Koller to nod his 55th international goal beyond the despairing dive of Volkan and give his side a richly-deserved lead. If their first-half travails were not worrying enough for Turkey, they also had the knowledge that the Czechs had never lost a competitive match in which Koller had scored. That statistic seemed ever more relevant in the 62nd minute when Plašil met another fine centre, this time from Sionko, with a sliding first-time volley that Volkan could not keep out. Despite the increased deficit there had been hope for Turkey, with Nihat and Tuncay going close after the restart as Terim's team finally began to find their feet on a slippery surface. In the countries' previous meeting, Turkey had scored twice in the closing two minutes to earn a draw but such a scenario appeared a long way off as the Czechs threatened again as Jan Polák rattled the upright. Suddenly, however, Turkey revived as Hamit Altıntop cut in from the right for a cross that found Arda – the hero against Switzerland – at the far post to halve the deficit. The Czechs still looked like holding on, until an uncharacteristic error from Čech shattered their chances. The No1 dropped another Altıntop centre at the feet of Nihat, who duly prodded in. Two minutes later Altıntop's pass sent Nihat through and the Turkey captain clipped the ball in off the underside of the crossbar under extreme pressure to take his side through. They will play Group B winners Croatia in Vienna on Friday, when Mehmet Aurélio will be suspended along with Volkan.

2  Czech Republic

Manager: Karel Bruckner

3  Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim

Goals:

Jan Koller 34 G
Jaroslav Plašil 62 G

Goals:

Arda Turan 75 G
Nihat Kahveci 87 G
Nihat Kahveci 89 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Petr Čech
Defender Zdeněk Grygera
Defender David Rozehnal
Defender Tomáš Ujfaluši (captain)
Midfielder Tomáš Galásek
Midfielder Marek Matějovský
Midfielder Jaroslav Plašil
Midfielder Jan Polák
Midfielder Libor Sionko
Forward Jan Koller

Starting lineup:

Volkan Demirel Goalkeeper
Emre Gungor Defender
Servet Çetin Defender
Arda Turan Midfielder
Hakan Balta Midfielder
Hamit Altintop Midfielder
Mehmet Aurélio Midfielder
Mehmet Topal Midfielder
Semih Senturk Midfielder
Nihat Kahveci Forward (captain)

Substitutions:

David Jarolím for Marek Matějovský 39
Michal Kadlec for Jaroslav Plašil 80
Stanislav Vlček for Libor Sionko 84

Substitutions:

Sabri Sarıoğlu for Semih Senturk 46
Colin Kazim-Richards for Mehmet Topal 57
Emre Aşık for Emre Gungor 65

Cards:

Tomáš Galásek 80 Y
Tomáš Ujfaluši 90 Y

Cards:

Mehmet Topal 6 Y
Mehmet Aurélio 10 Y
Arda Turan 65 Y
Emre Aşık 74 Y
Volkan Demirel 90 R

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Jaromir Blažek
Goalkeeper Daniel Zitka
Defender Michal Kadlec
Defender Radoslav Kováč
Defender Zdeněk Pospěch
Defender Tomáš Sivok
Midfielder David Jarolím
Midfielder Rudi Skacel
Forward Milan Baroš
Forward Martin Fenin
Forward Vaclav Sverkos

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber
Goalkeeper Tolga Zengin
Defender Emre Aşık
Defender Gökhan Zan
Midfielder Ayhan Akman
Midfielder Emre Belözoğlu
Midfielder Sabri Sarıoğlu
Midfielder Tümer Metin
Midfielder Ugur Boral

Comments:

- Milan Baroš was booked on the substitutes' bench, despite not playing any part in the match. - Jan Koller's goal made him the second player from the Czech Republic to score in three different major tournaments (European Championship and World Cup combined). He now shares the record with Vladimir Smicer. - At the age of 35 years and 77 days, Koller is also the second oldest player to score in European Championship history. The three oldest goal scorers have all come at Euro 2008.

Comments:

- With all three substitutes used, Tuncay Sanli took over in goal after keeper Volkan Demirel was sent-off in added time at the end of the game. - Turkey became only the sixth country to come back from a two goal deficit to win a European Championship match. Ironically, Czech Republic was the last team to achieve this feat, at Euro 2004. - Since the introduction of the knock-out stages in 1984, eight teams have now survived the group stage after losing their opening match. Turkey have now achieved it twice. Their first such feat was at Euro 2000. - By scoring twice at Euro 2008, Arda Turan and Nihat Kahveci have equalled Hakan Sukur to become Turkey's joint top scorers in European Championship history. - Volkan Demirel's red card was the 14th direct red card in European Championship history. Three of those have been given to goalkeepers: Filip de Wilde (2000) and Sergei I. Ovchinnikov (2004) were the others.

2  Czech Republic

Manager: Karel Bruckner

Goals:

Jan Koller 34 G
Jaroslav Plašil 62 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Petr Čech
Defender Zdeněk Grygera
Defender David Rozehnal
Defender Tomáš Ujfaluši (captain)
Midfielder Tomáš Galásek
Midfielder Marek Matějovský
Midfielder Jaroslav Plašil
Midfielder Jan Polák
Midfielder Libor Sionko
Forward Jan Koller

Substitutions:

David Jarolím for Marek Matějovský 39
Michal Kadlec for Jaroslav Plašil 80
Stanislav Vlček for Libor Sionko 84

Cards:

Tomáš Galásek 80 Y
Tomáš Ujfaluši 90 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Jaromir Blažek
Goalkeeper Daniel Zitka
Defender Michal Kadlec
Defender Radoslav Kováč
Defender Zdeněk Pospěch
Defender Tomáš Sivok
Midfielder David Jarolím
Midfielder Rudi Skacel
Forward Milan Baroš
Forward Martin Fenin
Forward Vaclav Sverkos

Comments:

- Milan Baroš was booked on the substitutes' bench, despite not playing any part in the match. - Jan Koller's goal made him the second player from the Czech Republic to score in three different major tournaments (European Championship and World Cup combined). He now shares the record with Vladimir Smicer. - At the age of 35 years and 77 days, Koller is also the second oldest player to score in European Championship history. The three oldest goal scorers have all come at Euro 2008.

3  Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim

Goals:

Arda Turan 75 G
Nihat Kahveci 87 G
Nihat Kahveci 89 G

Starting lineup:

Volkan Demirel Goalkeeper
Emre Gungor Defender
Servet Çetin Defender
Arda Turan Midfielder
Hakan Balta Midfielder
Hamit Altintop Midfielder
Mehmet Aurélio Midfielder
Mehmet Topal Midfielder
Semih Senturk Midfielder
Nihat Kahveci Forward (captain)

Substitutions:

Sabri Sarıoğlu for Semih Senturk 46
Colin Kazim-Richards for Mehmet Topal 57
Emre Aşık for Emre Gungor 65

Cards:

Mehmet Topal 6 Y
Mehmet Aurélio 10 Y
Arda Turan 65 Y
Emre Aşık 74 Y
Volkan Demirel 90 R

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber
Goalkeeper Tolga Zengin
Defender Emre Aşık
Defender Gökhan Zan
Midfielder Ayhan Akman
Midfielder Emre Belözoğlu
Midfielder Sabri Sarıoğlu
Midfielder Tümer Metin
Midfielder Ugur Boral

Comments:

- With all three substitutes used, Tuncay Sanli took over in goal after keeper Volkan Demirel was sent-off in added time at the end of the game. - Turkey became only the sixth country to come back from a two goal deficit to win a European Championship match. Ironically, Czech Republic was the last team to achieve this feat, at Euro 2004. - Since the introduction of the knock-out stages in 1984, eight teams have now survived the group stage after losing their opening match. Turkey have now achieved it twice. Their first such feat was at Euro 2000. - By scoring twice at Euro 2008, Arda Turan and Nihat Kahveci have equalled Hakan Sukur to become Turkey's joint top scorers in European Championship history. - Volkan Demirel's red card was the 14th direct red card in European Championship history. Three of those have been given to goalkeepers: Filip de Wilde (2000) and Sergei I. Ovchinnikov (2004) were the others.