UEFA Euro 2008 Championship

Turkey lost a Euro 2008 warm-up friendly 3-2 to Uruguay here on Sunday as Fatih Terim’s Turks suffered a setback.

Terim rang the changes, fielding only four of the starters who beat Slovakia 1-0 last Tuesday in another German friendly, to see what his squad have in reserve.

Defender Servet Cetin was out injured, as was midfielder Mehmet Aurelio and their absence was keenly felt. Arda Turan opened the scoring with an early header from a cross by Hamit Altintop.

But Uruguay fought back and levelled from the spot on the half hour through Luis Suarez after he was upended by keeper Volkan Demirel.

A fine freekick from Nihat Kahveci six minutes after the restart put the Turks back in front but goals from Suarez on 78 minutes, profiting from defensive disarray, and then a Cristian Rodriguez spotkick five minutes from the end after Emre Asik fouled him, completed a Uruguayan turnaround.

On Thursday the Turks will take on Finland in the German town of Duisburg.

At the Euro, the Turks compete in Group A along with co-hosts Switzerland, 2004 semi-finalists Czech Republic and 2004 finalists Portugal, who they play in their first match on June 7 in Geneva.

The Czech football team, whose match with co-hosting Switzerland will open Euro 2008 on June 7, is falling to pieces two months ahead of the tournament. Some key players are grappling with injuries, others with a loss of form.

Chelsea’s Petr Čech, the clear pick among goalkeepers, has been sidelined with a sprained ankle since early March. He was expected to return for Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Fenerbahce, but on Monday, another Chelsea player slit his chin with his shoe during practice. Mirror.co.uk said the season was over for Čech, who has 50 fresh stitches on his face, but the goalkeeper told the iDNES.cz news server he might be available to play in two weeks if he finds protective equipment for his chin to accompany the trademark helmet he has been wearing since suffering a head injury last season.

Arsenal midfielder Tomáš Rosický, the Czech team captain, has been out with a knee inflammation since end-January. The Czech team doctor Petr Krejčí said Monday the player could return in two weeks, but maybe also in six months. With this in mind, the calls for Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedvěd to return are getting louder. But Nedvěd, who has retired from international football, is injured as well – he suffered a concussion after clashing heads with an opponent in last weekend’s match.

AC Milan left defender Marek Jankulovski, another key player, underwent a knee surgery six months ago. He is still having problems, although he can play – at least for his club. But he did not appear in the last friendly against Denmark, just like Juventus Turin defender Zdeněk Grygera, the first or second choice on the right side of the Czech defence. Spartak Moskva Czech skipper Radoslav Kováč is out with a shoulder injury.