Semi-Final
Wednesday , 7.45pm
Germany v Turkey

We're coming to the crunch. The Open Goal Swingometer has been wobbling to and fro over the past couple of weeks. Day-by-day we have mused, mulled and meandered our way around the relative minefield of Euro 2008 fixtures, bluffing over players we've never heard of, managers with moustaches, and supporters poisoning their blood with unhealthy quantities of face paint.

With just three matches to go, the Swingometer is in the red. We need a final push to confirm that the tournament was indeed more bowel-shakingly exciting than we had hoped. Is Turkey v Germany the fixture to help us do that? Well, as Morrissey once said, "a boy in the bush is worth two in the hand", so with that in mind, let's assess the outlook.

Reasons to be cheerful:

- With Turkey having potentially only thirteen available outfield players, an early injury or two could see this game into the realms of farce. And everyone, bar Alan Hansen, loves a bit of farce
- The Turks might be three down in the 89th-minute, but you just know the match will be going to extra-time

Reasons to be fearful:

- Germany are ruthlessly efficient, whereas Turkey are just ruthless
- We're potentially only three hours away from a Turkey v Russia final. Is football really the winner?

Open Goal Hysteria Hunch:

The Germans will surely have too much for the brave Turks who have flounced their way through the tournament with their own bespoke brand of injury-time-itis, but you have to suppose the luck runs out here.

If the Germans are in the lead at half-time, this one could well peter out towards the end.