Switzerland 1-2 Turkey

So much for that Swiss quarterfinal pick. The poor, poor co-hosts had to leave the locker room at halftime feeling good, with a 1-0 lead on a swamp of a field in Basel. But Turkey came out firing in the second half, creating more chances and earning a lot of respect with two gritty goals. Because something about the Turks irritates me, I will choose to focus on the Swiss being the better team for long stretches on both of the matches they've lost. One particularly good chance late in the second half, which would've put them up 2-1, came on a 3-on-1 counterattack that saw the ball stop dead in a puddle at the six-yard box, fooling striker Hakan Yakin. An unlucky deflected goal in injury time doomed Switzerland, a team who will be remembered in this tournament as being long on chances and short on luck. The bottom line is they probably didn't deserve to win this one, and I'm not clinging on to my pick/sentimental pick, but I really think that in a five or seven-game series the Swiss could beat the Czechs, the Turks, or maybe both. Oh well, they'll have to prove themselves in WC 2010 qualifying. Turkey, who was soundly beaten in their first outing, now finds themselves with a chance to advance with Group A silver if they can beat the Czechs on Sunday. I'm inclined to pick against them, but I've done it already, and they've proven me wrong. Czech Republic and Turkey are tied on goal differential, so if they're tied after full-time on Sunday, it's PK time. Advantage: team with goalie who plays for Chelsea (the Czechs).