Nobody has done this yet! clashes with a midweek triathlon series I am doing, but still.... Germany 2-0. Klose twice

I shall be missing my first Ben Folds London gig in years to watch this. I hope that both sets of players realise the pressure this puts on them to produce a classic.

I shall be missing a mock Spanish A Level.

Germany 5-4. not on penalties.

Turkey could have given Germany a good game, but with all the injuries and suspensions they'll have a job getting eleven men on the pitch. It will be at least 2-0 to Germany, and they will go on to win the whole damned thing and everyone will go on about what a fantastic side they are. There's a horrible inevitability to it now.

I fucking hate international tournaments. It's always the same: great fun to start with, but as they go on, the more they reduce me to a shivering, badminding wreck

QUOTE:
I shall be missing my first Ben Folds London gig in years to watch this.

You, Sir, are an idiot.

Ben Folds London. Is that like Debbie Does Dallas? Or more Christo wrapping the Reichstag?

Yogi Lurve wrote:

QUOTE:

QUOTE:
I shall be missing my first Ben Folds London gig in years to watch this.

You, Sir, are an idiot.

Not really. I'll see him at a couple of festivals and out of town shows, just not when he plays nearest to where I live.

It's a European Championship semi-final, you know!

Heh. Actually, imp, Mr Folds' Rocking The Suburbs should be right up your blogstreet.

Oh, I see, Mr Carpenter. See, living in a place where Ben Folds will never play, I'd happily trade a football game I can always tape for the privilege of seeing him live. I envy you for having opportunity to see him regularly. You are indeed the luckiest.

Should be a motivation for the Turks that the German team are already planning a victory celebration at Brandenburg Gate.

Don't you think it would be a sign of incompetence if a semi-finalist was not planning events in case they actually win?

It would.
But it's a sign of incompetence, too, to trumpet it out in a press interview.

Have any of the Germany players got autobiographies due out later this year?

I am still holding out faint hope klose can be top goal scorer and he can fill his boots tonight against the 7 fit/eligible turkish players

There has been a lot of pooh-poohing of the adhocometer (TM), but it scored three out of four on the previous round, only failing when the world's most expensive defence fell to pieces unexpectedly. Incredibly some have even suggested that cheese be included as a category - however, to my knowledge, nearly all European countries produce cheese so all would score equally negatively on such a criterium. So, without further ado, the adhocometer(TM) will be once again called upon to predict this game:

Beer: No contest, Germany wins easily. 1-0
Wine: The adhocometer (TM) has never been a big fan of German wine, though it is told by experts that hidden amongst all the blue nuns and liebfraumilchs there are actually some good German wines. The adhocometer (TM) is obliged to take the word of these experts. Germany 2-0.
Food. As much of a mismatch as beer but from the other side. Oodles of delicious dishes and flavours make up Turkish cuisine. Germany, not. Indeed the discerning traveller upon finding himself in Germany will automaticaly head for a Turkish restaurant. 2-1
Current political situation: Obviously the adhocometer (TM) is no fan of Merkel, but pitted against a bunch of former (or arguably former) fundamentalists, Germany clearly wins out. 3-1
Literature: Again Germany comes out the clear winner. This may be as a result of being a Western European country and therefore having its great masters translated into English (the only language the adhocometer(TM) can read literature in), but still, that's life. 4-1
Contemporary Music: On its classical past germany would clearly win this, but the adhocometer(TM) has been recalibrated to only work on the new (or Neu, hoho) music available from the competitors. Since the demise of Kraftwerk and Einsturzende Neubauten, Germany has produced nothing which has favourably crossed the circuits of the adhocometer (TM), while Turkey has shown a great willingness to take its vibrant musical traditions and merge them with modern production and styles. A perhaps controversial decision in an otherwise easy to call match-up, but Turkey takes it. 4-2

So there we have it. Fairly clear win for Germany, and interestingly the first adhocometer(TM) prediction that goes against the desires of its programmer.