The New Nation - Internet Edition

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One of the more memorable comebacks in European Championship-even in all of soccer-carried Turkey into the quarterfinals.

Two late goals in three minutes by Nihat Kahveci lifted the Turks over the Czech Republic 3-2 to claim second place in Group A. "Seeing the ball in the nets and knowing that the goal was bringing a win and the quarterfinals, it was an unbelievable feeling," Nihat said.

Nihat equalized in the 87th minute and then added another in the 89th to send the 2002 World Cup semifinalists into the final eight. Turkey, which also rallied to beat Switzerland earlier in the tournament, will face Group B winner Croatia in the quarterfinals on Friday in Vienna. Portugal, which had already assured itself first place in Group A, lost to the already-eliminated Swiss 2-0 in Basel. Hakan Yakin scored both goals in the second half for the co-hosts against a second-string Portuguese lineup.

Arda Turan started the Turkish comeback with a goal in the 75th minute, taking a pass from Hamit Altintop and banging his shot in off the goalpost.

Nihat then took advantage of an unlikely blunder from goalkeeper Petr Cech, who fumbled a simple cross and allowed the forward to shoot the ball into an empty net. With the match looking like it would be decided on penalty kicks, Nihat scored another with a shot that bounced off the post.

"At that moment, I just thought of shooting to where I saw," Nihat said. "It went well and it got in, thank God."

Turkey then held on despite losing goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, who got a red card for knocking down Jan Koller and will miss the quarterfinals. Midfielder Tuncay Sanli replaced Demirel in goal for the final seconds. The Czechs had taken the lead in the 34th minute when Zdenek Grygera sent a cross from the right to the towering Koller. Demirel got a hand on the ball, but he could only push it off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Jaroslav Plasil then slid into a cross from teammate Libor Sionko in the 62nd. Demirel again got a piece of it, but couldn't keep it out of the net.

With time running out, the Turks staged their sensational finish, getting the better of the Czech defense and Cech, who is considered one of the world's best goalkeepers. "The third goal was nothing but a collapse. I can't explain that," Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner said.

Switzerland restored some pride by beating Portugal, which played without eight starters, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco. "We should have actually replaced 11 rather than eight," said Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "We ran too many risks during this match. I made a mistake. I made a big mistake."

In the 71st minute, Eren Derdiyok set up the first goal for Yakin, who shot through the legs of goalkeeper Ricardo. The 31-year-old striker added his second from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute after Fernando Meira fouled substitute Tranquillo Barnetta in the box.

The win was Switzerland's first in three European Championship appearances. The Swiss failed to win a match at the 1996 tournament in England and also in Portugal four years ago, earning just one draw in each.

home side came even closer in the 65th as Gokhan Inler hit the outside of the post with a hard shot from 25 meters (yards).

Portugal, which was runner-up four years ago and reached the final four of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, will play Austria, Germany or Poland in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Portuguese had little to worry about after winning 2-0 against Turkey and 3-1 against the Czech Republic, who met in the other Group A match to decide second place. Turkey scored two late goals to win 3-2 and qualify alongside Portugal, leaving Switzerland to finish last in the standings. Portugal should have scored in the first half, having a goal ruled out by a dubious offside decision and being denied a seemingly valid penalty.

Stephan Lichtsteiner got away with barging striker Helder Postiga in the area in the 15th, and Portugal went close three minutes later when Zuberbuehler pushed Pepe's flick from a free kick by Nani onto the crossbar.

Postiga then had the ball in the net after 36 minutes, but Austrian referee Konrad Plautz whistled for offside even though replays showed Postiga to be level with Lichtsteiner when the pass was played.

Nani and Quaresma caused Switzerland numerous problems by constantly switching wings, while the Swiss showed their usual tenacity in the center of the field from Gelson Fernandes and Gokhan Inler. However, the co-hosts also displayed a lack of creativity up front, not least because of the inclusion of winger Johan Vonlanthen over regular playmaker Barnetta - who was carrying an injury. But the late goals at least meant that the Swiss improved on their unlucky losses to the Czechs and Turks, when late goals led to 1-0 and 2-1 defeats. It was Portugal's first loss to Switzerland since a 2-1 defeat in a friendly in 1982.

"It's unfortunate that we are eliminated," Yakin said. "The Czech Republic and Turkey were not 'uberteams.' We were almost there."

Switzerland: Pascal Zuberbuehler, Stephan Lichtsteiner (Stephane Grichting, 83), Philippe Senderos, Patrick Mueller, Ludovic Magnin, Valon Behrami, Gokhan Inler, Gelson Fernandes, Johan Vonlanthen (Tranquillo Barnetta, 61), Eren Derdiyok, Hakan Yakin (Ricardo Cabanas, 86).

Portugal: Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira (Jorge Ribeiro, 41), Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fernando Meira, Miguel, Raul Meireles, Miguel Veloso (Joao Moutinho, 71), Nani, Ricardo Quaresma, Helder Postiga (Hugo Almeida, 74).