Turkey qualified for Euro 2008 thanks to a 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last qualifying match in November 2007. With 24 points, Turkey scraped past Norway – a single point behind them – to get the second Group C spot and send themselves to Austria and Switzerland this summer.

Turkey won seven of their qualifiers, scoring 25 goals in the process but the campaign’s turning point came four days before the Malta clash when they came back from a goal down in Oslo to beat Norway 2-1. The result gave them the impetus to then go on and get the three points needed for qualification 96 hours later.

Whether Turkey can produce the type of performances (and crucially get the similar momentum) they did during their momentous World Cup run in 2002 remains to be seen. But in Hakan Sukur they have one of Europe’s most lethal strikers, truly a headache for any defence, coach Fatih Terim has the right combination of experience and flair and with a solid backline, there is no reason why Turkey cannot progress.

Although speculation exists about whether Terim will still be in charge after the tournament, the renowned disciplinarian will not let any distractions upset his side. If he is to go, then what better send off could his players give him than winning Euro 2008?

Turkey Euro 2008 Squad

Head coach: Fatih Terim

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Rüştü Reçber 10 May 1973 (35) 128 0 Beşiktaş 2 DF Servet Çetin 17 March 1981 (27) 21 1 Galatasaray 3 DF Hakan Balta 23 March 1983 (25) 6 1 Galatasaray 4 DF Gökhan Zan 7 September 1981 (26) 17 0 Beşiktaş 5 MF Emre Belözoğlu 7 September 1980 (27) 53 4 Newcastle United 6 MF Mehmet Topal 3 March 1986 (22) 1 0 Galatasaray 7 MF Mehmet Aurélio 15 December 1977 (30) 17 1 Fenerbahçe 8 FW Nihat Kahveci 23 November 1979 (29) 53 14 Villarreal 9 FW Semih Şentürk 29 April 1983 (25) 3 0 Fenerbahçe 10 FW Gökdeniz Karadeniz 11 January 1980 (28) 45 6 Rubin Kazan 11 MF Tümer Metin 14 October 1974 (33) 23 7 Larissa 12 GK Tolga Zengin 10 October 1983 (24) 2 0 Trabzonspor 13 DF Emre Güngör 01 August 1984 (23) 1 0 Galatasaray 14 MF Arda Turan 30 January 1987 (21) 16 1 Galatasaray 15 DF Emre Aşık 13 December 1973 (34) 26 2 Galatasaray 16 DF Uğur Boral 14 April 1982 (26) 7 0 Fenerbahçe 17 FW Tuncay Şanlı 16 January 1982 (26) 51 14 Middlesbrough 18 MF Colin Kazim-Richards 26 August 1986 (21) 1 0 Fenerbahçe 19 MF Ayhan Akman 23 February 1977 (31) 7 0 Galatasaray 20 DF Sabri Sarıoğlu 26 July 1984 (23) 11 1 Galatasaray 21 FW Mevlüt Erdinç 25 February 1987 (23) 1 0 Sochaux 22 MF Hamit Altıntop 8 December 1982 (25) 40 2 Bayern Munich 23 GK Volkan Demirel 27 October 1981 (26) 19 0 Fenerbahçe

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