Turkey run out of miracles in heroic semifinal defeat to Germany at Euro 2008

Finally, Turkey ran out of miracles. This time it was Germany that found the last-minute winning goal in the dying moments.

The Turks' dramatic, roller-coaster ride through Euro 2008 came to halt at St. Jakob Park on Wednesday with a 3-2 defeat that covered coach Fatih Terim's team in glory - but no place in Sunday's final in Vienna.

Germany fullback Philipp Lamm's 90th-minute waltz through Turkey's makeshift defence - patched together after being struck by injuries and suspensions - ended with a shot high into the net.

There was no coming back from that.

Four minutes earlier, another of Terim's trademark miracles had seemed possible. Down 2-1 and desperately throwing men forward, striker Semih Senturk had levelled the game in typical Turkish fashion. His third goal of the tournament came from a near-post flick shot that squeezed into the net from a near-impossible angle.

"I'm proud of my players and their desire," said Terim, who seems ready to stand down from his job.

Turkey midfielder Kazim Kazim said the players' locker room conversation was about looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers beginning in September.

"The belief in this team is unbelievable," Kazim said. "We can take this experience into the World Cup qualifiers."

Impossible is nothing, the advertising slogan goes, and so it has been for Turkey these past two glorious weeks in Switzerland and Austria.

Against Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Croatia - the last two in do-or-die elimination games - Turkey found the late, late show it needed.

On the brink of their first major competition final, the Turks found Germany just too tough to overcome.

It will be little consolation that Turkey go home after its most ambitious, impressive and complete display of the tournament. And this with Terim having only 16 of his original squad of 23 suited up to play.

"Our aim was to play well and prevent them from playing well, and we did this," the coach said. "It's not easy to stop Germany."

Ugor Boral had given Turkey a fully deserved lead in the 22nd minute, the first time Turkey had scored in the first half of its five Euro 2008 matches. He was first to react to shoot through Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's legs when Kazim Kazim's shot came back off the crossbar.

Bastian Schweinsteiger equalized four minutes later. He met Lukas Podolski's low cross from the left with a clever shot at the near post.

The game was evenly poised until the 79th minute when Miroslav Klose met Lahm's cross and headed into an empty net as goalkeeper Rustu Recber rushed out to try to punch clear.

The banner unfurled by Turkey fans before the game said everything about the team's prior performances - "Don't Try This At Home. Only Turks Make Miracle."

From the first whistle, Turkey set out to prove it, denying Germany space and surprising its opponent with enterprise and ambition, having nine shots on goal in the first half.

Kazim Kazim tested Lehmann with a long-range shot in the seventh minute. Then, Hamit Altintop, who had been released to play a role much further upfield this game, intercepted Lahm's pass deep into Germany's defence and poked a shot against Lehmann's legs.

This was a very different Turkey and the Germans seemed startled. Ayhan Akman retrieved a loose ball near the byline. The left side of Germany's defence was dozing again when Sabri Sarioglu crossed to Kazim Kazim. His looping shot from 10 meters rebounded off the crossbar and Boral followed up to score.

Yet Turkey seemed determined to try to win this tournament by leading matches for a minimum amount of time. The team stayed ahead for just four minutes, making it a total of 14 in which Turkey have led in more than eight hours of action.

The Turks could easily have been behind six minutes into the second half when Germany had a sure call for a penalty denied.

Sarioglu took out Lahm with a check to the hip, but Swiss referee Massimo Busacca waved play on, to derisive whistles from the German fans behind Recber's goal.

The game settled into a committed stalemate in the middle of the field with few chances created, until Recber's error let in Klose.

Turkey showed they can never be counted out, by striking back through Senturk. Then Lahm got his revenge for the penalty non-decision, waiting for Recber to commit to dive before shooting just inside the near post.

"In the last couple of games teams were better than us and we won," Kazim said. "Today we were better and we lost. They (Germany) were more experienced than some of our players."

The miracle workers had reached the end of their magnificent line.