While one player does not a team make, the return of their star Andrei Arshavin, after missing the first two games as a result of a suspension carried over from the qualifying round, has made Russia a far more dangerous squad then they were when Spain defeated them. He was a constant threat in the game against the Dutch, made a beautiful crossing pass to set up the winning goal, and scored the insurance goal that sealed Holland's fate three minutes from the end of extra time.

After the Netherlands had beaten both Italy 3-0 and France 4-1 in the opening round, they rested eight starters for their final game against Romania and still won 2-0. Everyone considered them to the team to beat coming out of qualifying; they were poised, professional and elegant, and had looked positively unbeatable in destroying their opposition. Yet, against the Russian squad they looked old and tired as the young legs of Russia ran them into the ground. Indicative of their problems were how many penalties they took for late tackles or tackling from behind as they were continually left in Russian dust.

If Russia's defeat of the Netherlands to gain a place in the final four is a surprise, Turkey's presence in the other semi-final against Germany is astonishing. After losing their opening match 2-0 to Portugal, they then proceeded to break Swiss and Czech hearts by staging remarkable last minute come from behind wins of 2-1 and 3-2 respectively. If scoring the tying and winning goals in injury time against the Czechs to decide who advanced to the quarter finals wasn't remarkable enough, the goal they scored against Croatia that sent their quarter final match to penalty kicks came just before the referee's whistle blew to end extra time.

What makes Turkey's run even more remarkable is the number of starting players they are missing due to injury or suspension. Now it seems like these absences are finally going to catch up to them. Aside from missing their starting goalie due to a two game suspension after committing a nasty, and unnecessary foul, in their match against the Czech Republic, seven other starters will be absent from the line up when the whistle blows to start their match against Germany. It really seems impossible for the German side to lose.

Yet Germany hasn't exactly lived up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites having lost to Croatia in the opening round and escaping with a fortunate 1-0 victory over Austria. They looked very impressive defeating Poland in their opening game, but if Austria had had anyone capable of putting the ball in the net, Germany may not have even made it out of the first round. However, in their quarter final match-up with Portugal they played a beautiful, inspired game against one of the pre-tournament favourites to win 3-2.