Turkey coach Fatih Terim claimed there was "no limit to success" for his side after they defeated Croatia on penalties to earn a semi-final meeting with Germany. Terim's men looked to be on their way out when Ivan Klasnić struck in the penultimate minute of extra time, but Semih Şentürk restored parity with the last kick of the game and Turkey then triumphed in the shoot-out. Croatia coach Slaven Bilić said Turkey had the "X factor" after watching them hit back late on for the third successive match.
He says.....
I would like to congratulate the Croatia players and coach. They played well but that's football. You should never give up until the final whistle, that's what makes football interesting. I congratulate my players, too. Both sides could have won. I think we should be proud and I still haven't been able to do any damage assessment. Emre Aşık, Tuncay Şanlı and Arda Turan are all suspended [for Germany] because they were booked here, and we have injured players. We have worked very hard over the last two years and deserve to be in this semi-final. If Croatia had won, I would have said they deserved it too, but I'm delighted we did it. I tell my players never to give up. I set them goals and tell them not to be afraid of losing. I think this team could do even better. If only we could have the injured players back, but even without them, we are special. There is something special about this team.
