Three games left in Euro 2008, and the semifinals begin today: the tall, staid Germans face spirited yet undermanned Turkey. Industrious Tyler Duffy of The Odds and Sods has your preview after the jump. If you plan on recording the game and watching it after work, kindly avoid the comments section, because we’ll be discussing the action as it unfolds. In our haste, we’ll probably misspell a few things and even bungle names, but feel free to call us on it! Worthless prediction: Germany 3, Turkey 1. This is one of Germany’s heroes, Michael Ballack, with his girl.

It took quite a bit of Anatolian legerdemain to get the Turks to this semi-final, with consecutive last-ditch comebacks against the Czech Republic and Croatia. When they face off today against the mighty Krauts, they will need more than a few white rabbits to bubble out from under Fatih Therim’s fez.

The Turkish coach has a scarcity of options, with the squad as decimated as the Grand Armee at the Berezina. He could have as few as thirteen out of 23 players available for this contest, with up to nine of his normal first-choice players gone due to injury or suspension. The situation is so dire that Therim has even discussed using third-choice goalkeeper Tolgan Zengin as a reserve striker.

The Germans, in contrast, will be at the height of their Teutonic fitness. Only Torsten Frings may miss the match with a cracked rib, and, judging by their performance against Portugal, they might be better off without him. The Germans also have some slight advantages, fielding a better player at every position, being better drilled tactically and having infinitely more experience.

On paper, the Germans should be doing cartwheels down the sidelines in a spastic fit of Leitchian bombast. However, history should deal them a dose of caution. Turkey has two wins and a draw in the last three meetings between the two countries, last losing in a 1-0 friendly in 1992.

Basically, this matchup resembles a #13 seed in the NCAA Tournament that just knocked off the #4 and the #5 and now looks across at #1, if that #13 seed has only six players and is missing four starters.

The Turks got a plague and locusts in the last two matches, but for them to emerge today, they need a parting of the Red Sea.