Turkey scored a stunning comeback win over the Czech Republic thanks to two late goals from Nihat Kahveci in the do or die Group C match here on Sunday.
Nihat slamed the loose ball at the 87th minute to level the score at 2-2 and then netted with a long-distance shot two minutes later to seal the 3-2 victory for Turkey.
The win sees Turkey advance into the last eight at the expense of the Czech Republic, who took a seeming solid 2-0 lead earlier in the match.
Turkish players celebrate after scoring during the Euro 2008 Group A soccer match against Czech Republic at Stade de Geneve stadium in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15, 2008. Turkey won the match 3-2. Veteran striker Jan Koller opened scoring with a header at the 34th minute and Jaroslav Plasil made it 2-0 for the Czech Republic.
The Czech team gained an upper hand in the first half but they were totally a different team in the second half.
Facing the fierce attacks from the Turkish team, the Czech team's defence was shaky and lapse of concentration costed them the lead.
Arda Turan narrowed the gap to 2-1 for Turkey at the 75th minute while Czech goalie Petr Cech, who had several brilliant saves earlier, made a fatal mistake at the 87th minute as he failed to catch the ball. Nihat was quick enough in sending home the ball.
The Czech team's defence collapsed thereafter and Nihat went onto score the winner two minutes later.
It was the second comeback win for Turkey at Euro 2008. Four days ago, they overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat co-hosts Switzerland 2-1.
Source: Xinhua
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