On a day when the temperature rose above 90 degrees in Brussels and stayed there for most of the evening, Turkey were given the football equivalent of a spit-roasting last night. Turned, rotated and regularly burnt by a Belgium side playing with, and sustaining, a remarkable fire, Turkey nevertheless finished second in Group B and progressed to a quarter-final meeting with Portugal in Amsterdam at tea-time on Saturday.

All Belgium had required was a draw. In the end it all went kebab-shaped for the cohosts. They knew who to blame. Turkey were overrun to the extent that manager Mustafa Denizli changed his formation well before half-time but three players kept Turkey in touch.

Of these the goalkeeper Recber Rustu was the hero and was swamped by grateful team-mates on the final whistle.

Rustu made stop after stop when Belgium were in control. That was most of the match. Rustu's agility enabled Erdem Arif to re-establish some Turkish coherence and that in turn enabled Hakan Sukur to score twice.

The Bull of the Bosporus is the subject of a £10 million bid from Inter Milan. That deal is far from closed despite reports to the contrary and Inter may find the price has risen suddenly. His goals in first-half injury-time and 20 minutes from the end earned the increase but Sukur was aided by some poor Belgian defending and the erratic goalkeeping of Filip de Wilde.

De Wilde was at fault for the opener and completed a miserable personal night when he was dismissed in the 84th minute having felled Arif with neck-high lunge. It was a flat end therefore for the host fans, some of whom were caught up in an outbreak of crowd trouble shortly before Sukur's second. Turkey's fans deserve to receive a warning like England's.

Many will have difficulty explaining how Turkey got through this game unbeaten. Belgium began on the crest of a wave of domestic public approval. The noise rained down from the stands and the players responded by surfing a wave of their own.

With Marc Wilmots and Yves Vanderhaeghe snapping ferociously in midfield, Emile Mpenza worried Rustu in the first minute. Three minutes later a simple Gert Verheyen pass split the Turkey back three and Luc Nilis sprinted away from Alpay with some comfort before hitting a shot Rustu pushed to safety.

It was quick, quick, quick. Given the heat Belgium could hardly have been expected to keep it up for long. But they did. Turkey were ragged at the back, Alpay in particular, so much so that Denizli stripped and warmed up an extra defender before the game was half an hour old.

Tayfur did not come on immediately as Turkey, via Arif's willingness to drop deep, gave the impression they might have weathered the worst. Because Belgium had been unrelenting. In the 14th minute a drive from Goor clipped the heel of Fatih and almost swerved in.

Another five minutes and Alpay was again exposed, this time on the left. When the cross came over Wilmots performed an acrobatic overhead kick that the besieged Rustu blocked. Shortly after Rustu was beaten, by Mpenza, but the effort was disallowed.

It was all Belgium. The Turks were arguing amongst themselves. Eventually Denizli brought on Tayfur for the disaffected Tugay. Yet amidst the Turkish chaos Arif had brought some theory. Just before half-time a slipped through-ball from Arif to Sukur was foiled by De Wilde's rush from his line.

Belgium were still dominant but the signs of Turkish danger were there. However, what happened in the fourth minute of first-half injury-time owed more to Belgian deficiencies than Turkish proficiency. Chasing a spiralling high ball that was always go ing to bounce in the Belgium area with more conviction than anyone in red, Sukur went past the delayed reaction of Lorenzo Staelens and leapt for the bouncing ball with De Wilde. In such circumstances the goalkeeper is usually favourite but this time the momentum was with the striker. Sukur outjumped De Wilde to the head the ball in.

The Belgium players looked dejected as they walked off for the interval. So much work and no reward.

Whatever was said at half-time had Belgium back at full steam. Before the hour Rustu had made a great save from a powerful Mpenza header, Goor had gone close with a half-volley and Verheyen was inches away from an equaliser. Every attack promised a result.

Unfortunately for Belgium the same was true at the other end. And Belgium paid for it. Pushing forward as they had to, when Okan Buruk launched a counter, Turkey were on their way to Amsterdam. Suat collected the pass, ran 40 yards unchallenged and then sent the ball to the far post. De Wilde came for it but Sukur got there first and buried it. Belgium's tournament was over.