Euro 2008: Man of the match, June 25
BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER, GERMANY. The Germans looked dreadful for most of their 3-2 semifinal victory over Turkey, but Schweinsteiger's classy finish to equalize at 1-1 was highly impressive.
WHAT WE LEARNED WEDNESDAY
1. That there will be some harsh words spoken by Germany coach Joachim Loew over the next couple of days. Loew will be delighted at being one game away from winning 2008, but he will know that dramatic improvement will be needed on Sunday.
2. That Turkey truly was the bravest team in Euro 2008. With so many players injured or suspended, it must have been tempting for Fatih Terim's team to take a negative and defensive approach. Instead, they took the game to Germany and were unlucky to end up losers.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE THURSDAY
1. To see how Spain plans on curtailing the impact of Russia's brilliant Andrei Arshavin. Holland and Sweden couldn't do it. Don't be surprised if Cesc Fabregas is used in a man-marking role in an attempt to deny Arshavin space.
2. No more of the storm-caused technical problems that robbed millions of fans around the world of visual footage for several minutes of the first semifinal. Unavoidable I guess, but deeply unfortunate.
