Turkey turn up heat

Peter Fraser takes a look at your Euro 2008 Hot or Not ratings to determine who to watch in the quarter-finals

Last updated: 19th June 2008

With the quarter-final line-up now complete, we have analysed your Player Ratings to salute who's hot and who's not at Euro 2008.

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Nihat Kahveci

Nihat: A hot shot with 9.2

The usual suspects continue to set proceedings alight in Austria and Switzerland, but with coaches shuffling their packs as last eight places were booked with a game to spare, it is interesting to see a few new faces earning Hot or Not praise for the final round of group matches.

Holland and Spain once again score highly in our top 10 averages, but a closer inspection of individual matches reveals a few 'reserves' who have stared, while Turkey have also caught the eye.

Between the sticks Poland shot-stopper Artur Boruc scored well in your opinion with a sweetly taken 9.2, while the seven handed to the Celtic man by reporter Chris Burton saw the greatest difference in opinion this week.

And to demonstrate that it is not only Mr Burton who can show a ruthless side, I have opted to give Gianluigi Buffon the nod as the Italian goalkeeper was awarded an eight by Steve Pass, who has clearly supped a calming cup of tea or two since dishing out a dizzying 10 to David Villa in round one.

Defenders are once again hard to come by as you demonstrate that you would rather see a free-flowing attacking approach than a defend first and ask questions later policy, step forward Romania, as not one stopper makes it in to the top 10.

However, a little bit of detective work allows me to unearth a dependable rearguard as Turkey centre-back Servet Cetin secures a 7.6 average, while journalist James Pearson was impressed by Russian Sergei Ignashevich's stifling job on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

While we are on the subject, Ibrahimovic is - in my humble opinion - one of the most frustrating players in Europe and, having stirred controversy in my last Hot or Not outing with criticism of Cesc Fabregas, I will again risk your wrath by suggesting that even a lowly 5.7 rating for the Sweden striker appears a little generous.

Back to the subject of defending quicker than a team talk from Greece manager Otto Rehhagel, our full-backs come in the shape of the ever-dependable German Philip Lahm (8.7) and Croatia's Manchester City man Vedran Corluka, who was rewarded with an average score of eight for his 64-minute substitute outing against Poland.

In midfield the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Deco and Luka Modric - obviously a few opinionated Tottenham followers out there, none spring to mind in this office - maintain their places among the big-hitters, despite not featuring in the final round of group fixtures and, therefore, I feel it is only fair to look further afield.

Arda Turan fills the left of midfield as he weighs in with an average rating of 8.7 to maintain a spot in our top ten following his goal, which started Turkey's dramatic 3-2 comeback against Czech Republic.

Deserved

Arda's inclusion could also be attributed to liberal voting by Middlesbrough fans, who have apparently taken Turkey to their hearts due to the presence of cult hero Tuncay Sanli - who scored a 7.7 for his recent goalkeeping stand-in role - after I overheard one witty Teesside wag dub the quarter-finalists 'Turklesbrough'.

Michael Ballack earns a spot as you agreed with Gareth Freil's rating of eight by dealing the Chelsea star an 8.2 for his rocket of a free-kick against Austria, which booked Germany a place in the last eight.

Andrea Pirlo's coolly taken penalty in Italy's 2-0 victory over France secured a closely matched eight and overall 8.1, while Spaniard Xabi Alonso reminded Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez and scribe Robin Hackett of his capabilities with an all-action nine against Greece.

In attack, and with regulars Fernando Torres and Villa putting their feet up, Turkey forward Nihat Kahveci takes his place after earning the highest score of the round (9.2) for his last-gasp double against the Czechs.

And, after serving a two-game suspension to make his first appearance of the finals, Andrei Arshavin will partner Nihat as he demonstrated Russia have more than just a Eurovision Song Contest string to their bow with deserved marks of nine and 8.6 as Guus Hiddink's side booked a showdown with Holland.

We also promised to name those who have failed to impress and Eric Abidal's head will sink further as the French defender follows his red card against Italy with a new Hot or Not record low of 2.3, while Czech keeper Petr Cech is not exempt from blame as he is branded with an average 3.8 for his fumble against Turkey.

To sum up, it is intriguing to see that you have not been influenced by names as a number of fringe players earn the plaudits, but offensive flair continues to dominate as we reach the knock-out stages. Will this continue to be the case? And what of our selections, has an impressive performer been overlooked, or are there any offenders who have escaped the Hot or Not radar?

You can rate players' performances after every match at Euro 2008 and it will be possible to interact with our match coverage throughout the tournament. We will also continue to observe the Hot or Not ratings after every round of games.

Comments

Peter Cameron (St Mirren fan) says...

I think Pirlo is a player of tremendous quality and that his world cupperformance was second only to Fabio Cannavaro, but would also question his inclusion in this team. His performance up to this point has been massively substandard, and it takes more than a coolly taken penalty to be Italy's playmaker. Obviously Villa and Sneijder ought to feature.

Posted 18:08 21st June 2008

Pat Devane (Bognor Regis Town fan) says...

some of you people are clearly not reading the extract, the players are picked from performing in the THIRD round of group matches, Sneijder, Villa, Torres, Xavi, Van der Vart didnt play in these matches and so were not included in the team... get it?

Posted 14:34 20th June 2008

Nouman Zafar (Manchester United fan) says...

No Ronaldo! Come on, thats gotta be unfair. The guy played brilliantly in first round matches.

Posted 06:16 20th June 2008

Josh Smith (Blackburn Rovers fan) says...

wesley sneijder??? david villa??? lukas podolski??? All have been quality this euro much better than that team above.

Posted 00:25 20th June 2008

Sam H (Portsmouth fan) says...

Wheres David Villa Then ? And Pepe has been absolute class

Posted 20:05 19th June 2008

Naeem Passa says...

Where's all of the Dutch Players?

Posted 17:33 19th June 2008

Adam Tzimas (Arsenal fan) says...

Well, it's clear that this is absolute rubbish as no Dutch player even made the "hot" team. Sneijder and Van der Vaart have owned the tournament completely, not to mention a few others such as Podolski, Villa and Xavi who have also fared very well for their respective teams. It seems these ratings are somewhat misleading, from this you would think Turkey are the best team left, which is far from the truth to say the least.

Posted 17:00 19th June 2008

Andy Coulson (Blackburn Rovers fan) says...

Not convinced by Pirlo. I think he is all for show. Van Persie should be in there!

Posted 15:30 19th June 2008

Issa Yacoob (Arsenal fan) says...

Up to now i have selected 2 teams among the best ones: Holland and Turkey. hope they will be in final

Posted 14:27 19th June 2008

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