Euro '08: Turkey Beat Swiss 2-1

BASEL, AFP: Arda Turan ended Switzerland's interest in Euro 2008 in heartbreaking fashion as a last-minute breakaway goal gave Turkey a 2-1 win here on Wednesday.

Just as it seemed the co-hosts had done enough to stay alive in the competition, the midfielder broke clear on the left, cut inside and beat goalkeeper Diego Benaglio from the edge of the area with the help of a cruel deflection off the boot of centreback Patrick Muller.

It was harsh on the Swiss but they had only themselves to blame having squandered the chances to kill off the Turks long before the dramatic denouement.

Hakan Yakin, one of three players in the Swiss side with family roots in Turkey, had given Jakob Kuhn's side a first-half lead in treacherous conditions.

Source: TOI

Who will be the Euro Cup champ?

By K Ramanathan Iyer

Europe is being boiled to the brim now as the second Mecca of the soccer event ‘Euro cup soccer 2008’ is underway in Austria and Switzerland.

This time too, there is no clue about the most favorite teams to win the championship. Though last time world champions Italy and equally strong contenders such as Germany, France, Romania and Portugal vying to get the coveted trophy, the match is wide open this time, as even unpredictable teams link Netherlands or Poland may upset a few big names in the championship.

So it's a wait and watch for the screaming supporters of the world's famous sports – football worldover. In India there is not much hullabaloo as Cricket takes the centre stage and football the back seat here. There are a few pockets in India like West Bengal, Goa and Kerala, where the sport has been played with huge passion. But due to lack of support and infrastructures like world class stadium, sports equipment and finally no back up from media and corporate world, sports events have become a dull-dull affair in India.

With the opening four matches at Euro 2008, going in favour of favourite teams with Czech Republic beating Switzerland and Portugal overcoming Turkey on Saturday while Croatia downed Austria and Germany overcame Poland, the match has entered into an interesting phase.

Who will win the Euro 2008 title, is a 'million dollar' question.