Euro 2008: Germany v Turkey odds and semi-final preview

Euro 2008: Germany v Turkey odds and semi-final preview Slowly but surely the Euro 2008 is getting closer to the culmination point and on Wednesday Germany or Turkey will secure a spot at the final. Here we will take a look at the Germany v Turkey Euro 2008 semi-final match, the betting odds and some extra statistics to help you place the right bet. We will waste no time and get right to the odds on the Germany v Turkey semi-final, as posted by the U.K. online bookmaker Paddy Power. At the bookie Germany is the favourite to win the game with odds 4/9, hardly a surprise, considering the Germans have been the favourite team to win Euro 2008 outright, before the Championship even began. Turkey, who are dubbed "lucky" by many experts are a big underdog entering the football field on Wednesday night, listed with odds 7/1 on winning the game in regular time, while 10/3 is the payout for a draw. Germany is still the favourite to win Euro 2008 with short odds 6/4, while Turkey is the underdog with odds 12/1 on European title. Paddy Power offers 84 additional betting props on the Germany v Turkey game, including first goalscorer - Klose and Podolski being favourite with odds 4/1 and 5/1 respectively. Visit the bookmaker for the full list of the 85 betting markets or to place a wager on Euro 2008.

The biggest unknown in the Germany squad is midfielder Torsten Frings. According to coach Joachim Low, Frings, who suffered fractured rib, could enter the field on Wednesday, after practicing on Monday, but a decision will be made on game-day. Other than Torsten, the Germans are healthy and ready to go. But the Turkish coach Terim has a hard time building up a team capable of facing Germany at the Euro 2008 semi-final. Not so much injuries as the lack of discipline had plagued the Turkish camp since the start of the Euro. Striker Nihat Kahveci is out of the tournament with a thigh injury, but Turkey lost Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik to suspensions, after picking up yellow cards during the game against Croatia. Six players were already lost to injuries and suspensions prior, including goalkeeper Volkan, who saw the red card after an unnecessary foul during the final group game. Volkan could rejoin the team if Turkey gets to the Euro 2008 final. "You can't replace any players after the first game of the tournament has been played. We know some teams are facing difficulties, but this is a hard rule of the tournament. We have no intention of changing the tournament rules. If a team only had eight players to choose from before a match, then we might call an emergency meeting. But we have had no requests and we would find it a bit difficult changing now," Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said.

The stats favour Germany in the head-to-head meetings, winning 11 of the 17 games the two teams have played. The Turkish team has won three times, but in the last three games Turkey has won 2 and drew one. The last time Germany and Turkey faced off was in a 2005 friendly, won 2-1 by Turkey in Istanbul. The Euro 2008 semi-final will be the first time the two Internationals are battling in a European Championship. Both Turkey and Germany reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 after finishing second in their groups. Turkey was in Group A, beating the Czech 3-2 and co-host Switzerland 2-1, but lost 0-2 to Portugal. In the quarter-finals Turkey faced off Croatia for a 1-1 draw in regular time and moved to the next stage after penalty shoot-out victory. Meanwhile Germany was battling its way up Group B, beating co-host Austria 1-0 and Poland 2-0, but lost the game against Croatia 1-2, which led to a temporary loss of favourite status with the odds makers. In the Euro 2008 quarter-finals Germany won 3-2 against Portugal to secure place on the semi-finals. The Euro 2008 semi-final match Germany v Turkey will kick off at 20:45 local time (19:45 BST) from St Jakob-Park, Basel on Wednesday, June 25.

Published on 06/24/2008