my heart is about to pop out of my chest! i am typing this just as i watch turkey’s dramatic victory over croatia via penalty kicks, which has earned this incredibly resilient team a well-deserved spot in the semi-final of the euro 2008 football cup.
turkey has managed to pull what no other team has done in the history of the tourney: not just one, but three “come from behind”, back to back wins – and not just any wins, turkey’s victories against switzerland, czech republic and now croatia have been some of the most dramatic, astonishing, edge-of-your-seat triumphs i have seen in international competition in recent decades. with their performance in this cup, turkey has become the underdog that everyone wants to root for.
on the flip side, what a heart-breaker for croatia to have allowed turkey to equalize on the 120th minute of second overtime play and then move on to miss three penalty kicks – including a spectacular save by turkey’s redeemer, goalkeeper rustu.
another one of my favorite teams of this cup, portugal, was likewise eliminated by a very effective germany, despite some minor controversy.
croatia and portugal’s elimination prove once again that in soccer, there are no “almosts”.
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