Yes, we are at the semi-final stages of football’s Euro 2008 already and I think we have been given a great tournament by fans, players, our Austrian and Swiss hosts and UEFA’s tournament organisers alike.

We are left with Germany vs Turkey and Russia vs Spain to decide who will play the final next weekend.  Not a final four many would have picked but the neutral, like the Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English for example, have still got a bit of “who really cares” entertainment to enjoy.

I’m sure most English football fans will be against “ze Germans” for all the old stupid reasons, and a few good ones as well.  I know the Spanish have been well supported since the tournament began but I did think they would trip up against the Italians last night in their quarter final.  They didn’t.  They have played consistently well and are looking very good.

The gamblers will have Germany vs Spain as the final but the two outsiders, Russia and Turkey will be up for proving them wrong. Turkey wetre 66-1 and Russia 25-1 at the offset so will be surprising winners either of them.

I personally took a bet on the Turks (at 16-1) after their amazing defeat of the Czech Republic in the group stage.  Now with only about 10 or more of their squad unavailable through injury and/or suspension, there may have to be a special dispensation from UEFA to give them a team to play against the Germans on Wednesday.

When it comes to winning tournaments after playing only reasonably well until the final stages, Germany are simply the best.  They are also, in my opinion, perennially lucky and will need very little extra in that department to book their place in next week’s showpiece.  I’ll stick with the Turks being luckier though  - taking them to extra time and penalties, where anything can happen - and expect one of them to meet Spain in the final.

The past two weeks of football has flown in and, to my reckoning, only two “boring” games were played out.  The divide between the best national football teams in Europe is now so thin that any team arriving here came with a chance to go all the way.  Let’s hope the Turks can mimic the Greece team of four years ago and be crowned Euro 2008 champions.

I’ve got a £10 bet that says they will.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 am and is filed under Football News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.