Mustafa Denizli's side repelled attack after attack from Belgium in Brussels and hit the home side with a goal in each half from Hakan Sukur.

Sukur's strikes secured second spot in Group B for Turkey behind Italy and a quarter-final against Portugal.

The victory was their first in the European Championships and comes just a month after Galatasaray became the first Turkish side to win a European trophy when they beat Arsenal in the UEFA Cup final.

However Turkey's joy meant despair for Belgium and their shell-shocked side and fans were left wondering how they did not claim the point they needed to progress.

They bossed the game from start to finish and created chance after chance, but could not find a way past the impressive Rustu Recber in the Turkish goal.

Their frustration was summed up when goalkeeper Filip de Wilde was sent off near the end for taking out Arif Erdem.

To them goes the unwanted tag of becoming the first host nation of a European Championship not to reach the second stage.

It had all augured so differently when Belgium began the game brightly.

Emile Mpenza twice shot narrowly wide before Aston Villa new boy Luc Nilis, who started his first match in Euro 2000, went close.

Nilis showed a turn of pace which belied his 33 years as he outstripped the Turkish defence down the right before unleashing a drive which was saved by Recber at his near post.

Belgium continued to pepper the Turkish goal and Bart Goor saw a right-foot effort deflected just wide of the far post.

The Turkish backline was creaking and groaning under Belgium's unrelenting pressure and a perfectly-executed bicycle kick by Marc Wilmots rebounded off a combination of Mpenza and Fatih Akyel.

The Turks finally mustered a counter-attack which culminated in Eric Deflandre blocking Tugay Kerimoglu's tame shot.

Mpenza and the rest of Belgium thought he had opened the scoring in the 24th minute when he tucked home a rebound after Rustu had saved Goor's shot only for the effort to be disallowed for offside.

Nilis was just in front of the last defender when he received Wilmots' slide-rule pass in the build-up to the strike.

For all Belgium's pressure, they nearly went behind three minutes later when Sukur sprang their offside trap only for de Wilde to rush out and make a fine blocking save.

Nilis continued to threaten Turkey's goal and he drilled one 25-yard effort inches wide of Rustu's right-hand post.

Turkey were restricted to the odd break and Okan Buruk dreadfully mis-hit an effort after he had been set up in the box by Sukur.

Arif almost gave Turkey the lead against the run of play when he danced through the Belgian defence only for de Wilde to deny him with his right foot.

Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen became the first casualty of the frenetic pace of the match on a balmy evening when he pulled his groin and had to be replaced by Austrian official Gunter Benko.

In the time added on for Nielsen's injury, the Turks stunned Belgium by taking the lead.

Sukur chased an up-and-under into the Belgian box and outjumped the static de Wilde, who was slow to react, to head home the first goal of the game.

The header maintained Sukur's ratio of a goal every two games for Turkey, although he had not scored in his eight previous internationals.

Belgium had to score to stay in the tournament and just after the interval Goor cracked a half-volley wide from Deflandre's cross with the midfielder claiming his shot had taken a deflection.

Belgium moved up through the gears in their search for an equaliser and Rustu made a great reflex save to keep out Mpenza's free header from Nilis' pinpoint accurate cross.

Mpenza went close a minute later with another header which went just past Rustu's left-hand post.

Belgium brought Marc Hendrikx on for Goor and the Genk midfielder almost hauled his side level within two minutes of coming on with a stabbed effort which went narrowly wide.

The Belgians then threw on a third striker when they brought on Derby's Branko Strupar, who was carrying an injury, for Gert Verheyen.

However Belgium lost their way up front and Turkey put the game beyond their reach when they netted their second in the 70th minute.

They caught the Belgians pushing up looking for offside and Sukur finished off the break with a side-footed effort into the top corner for his second of the night and his 28th goal on his 55th international appearance.

Rustu denied Nilis again and then in the 84th minute de Wilde was sent off for felling Arif outside his area to complete Belgium's despair.