Michael Ballack has been counting down the minutes until he can lead his nation against Turkey in tonight's Euro 2008 semi-final.

It was the German captain who secured the win against Portugal last Thursday in the quarter-finals with the only free-kick scored in the competition so far, but the six-day wait has been a source of frustration for the Chelsea midfielder.

'The mood in the camp since the victory over Portugal has been better,' explained the 31-year-old.

'We were able to recover for a couple days but are now getting impatient because the break is a little too long.

'We want to get back to action - we're ready for the game against Turkey.'

Turkey's coach Fatih Terim will be forced to put out a depleted side with the possibility of only 13 outfield players available for the game, but despite Ballack's tranquil state as he heads towards the semi-final, he will not be underestimating his opponents.

'I am very calm and happy that we are in the semi-final,' he explained.

'Everyone is eyeing the chance to reach the final, though the task against Turkey will be extremely difficult.

'Turkey can adjust incredibly well to every kind of opponent, and they have, in Fatih Terim, a coach who can motivate his players extremely well.

'And anyway, how could we underestimate a team that beat Croatia? We lost against that team and did not look good doing so.'

Despite not giving anything away in terms of tonight's tactics, Ballack was keen to express the differences between Germany's last game and tonight's challenge.

'This kind of game depends on details, so it would not be too clever to say too much.

'We have some options. On the one side, our system against Portugal worked very well, but on the other, Turkey are a very different team from the Portuguese.

'They will play more defensively - I expect a game in which we will at least have a lot more possession.'

The last time Germany played in a European semi-final was on their home soil two years ago, when they were eliminated by Italy after extra time.

But with Turkey completing three miraculous comebacks in this tournament so far, Ballack will be sure not to make the same mistakes against his rivals tonight.

'We got eliminated and were so close to the final - we want to improve on that.

'We learned back then that you have to play games until the referee blows the final whistle, and you always have to play fully concentrated.

'The Turkey team have proved in this tournament how important that is.'

Bookmakers Paddy Power have Ballack at 6/1 to score first in tongiht's semi-final clash.