Germany coach Joachim Low said his side have the belief to win Euro 2008 following their thrilling 3-2 victory over Turkey in the semi-final.

"We have caught the winning mood and can claim the title now," said Low, whose team clinched the win thanks to Philipp Lahm's last-minute winner.

"It was unbelievable. It was crazy, incredible drama with all these goals in the final minutes."

He added: "Efficiency, this is what we had today."

Germany fell behind to an Ugur Boral goal before Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised soon after from close range.

Low's side then took the lead Euro 2008: Germany and Croatia advance to quarter-finals ...
Germany upsets Slovakia at World Ice Hockey Championship ... through Miroslav Klose 11 minutes from the end before Semih Senturk's late strike looked likely to take the match into extra time.

But Lahm's opportunistic run into the box, benefitting from a slip by Colin Kazim-Richards, and fine finish secured victory for the Germans with seconds left of normal time.

"That was a battle in which we have expended a lot of energy," said Germany captain Michael Ballack.

"We weren't very good in the first half and in the second we weren't that good either, but we gritted our teeth and we wanted the victory.

"The Turks played really well, they chased after the ball a lot and maybe they ran after it very well and we had heavy legs and the heat didn't do us any favours."

Goal hero Lahm echoed Ballack's thoughts on the game.

"It was always going to be a fight," said the man-of-the-match.

"We didn't perform as well as we wanted but we are through.

"There are always ups and downs in games, but this was extreme here because of the late goals. But we are happy to reach the final."

Centre-back Christoph Metzelder, part of an out-of-sorts Germany back four, said his side would be capable of putting the poor performance behind them in the final on Sunday.

"We were the lucky team - we have to admit that Turkey played a great match and we had some problems," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But in the end our will was stronger and more important than all the mistakes we made.

"We made many mistakes and we didn't play well, but the belief to get through to the final was there

"I think this match was the hardest part of this tournament for us. The final will be easy: it's the last match and it's the final of a big tournament and everybody will be focussed."

Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann said that Schweinsteiger's equaliser was crucial, coming at a time when his side were being totally outplayed by Turkey.

"I think we were quite fortunate to get the equaliser so soon," he told BBC Sport.

"It was vital for us because after it we came back in the game a bit more. We knew from the beginning it would be a tough game."

(BBC)

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