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A full hour after Turkey stunned the Czech Republic with a last-gasp 3-2 victory, most of the thousands of Turkish fans were still inside the stadium, celebrating. They could hardly believe it. Neither could anyone else.

This was a game for the ages. An epic, come-from-behind victory for an unheralded team that had already dispatched co-host Switzerland from the tournament. For the Turks celebrating in the stands, it was another rebuke to their rude hosts.

Those fans, who had been prepping all day in Geneva outside Turkish coffee houses and kebab shops, knew that every game played in Switzerland, and every goal scored, transcends soccer. The Turks have a complicated, resentful relationship with the Swiss. There are scores to settle, on a sporting and sociological level. It matters that Turkey beat the Czech Republic, but it mattered even more that it happened in Switzerland.

There has been a Turkish community in Switzerland since the 1960s. Most Turks came here in the 1960s and 1970s as migrant workers. Their jobs were in the industrial, catering and textile sectors. They did the dirty work. Patronized and often facing discrimination, they resented their status.

Even as they integrated – two of Switzerland's greatest soccer players, Hakan Yakin and his brother Murat, are of Turkish descent – they faced problems. A 2006 survey found that second generation Turks in Switzerland with exactly the same qualifications as a Swiss person are one-third less likely to find work than young people holding a Swiss passport.

In that context, Turkish success against Switzerland – that happened last week – and any victory in Switzerland matters enormously.

The game had everything a neutral observer could want in international soccer. The two teams had gone into the match with identical points and goals for and against. It was to end in a tie; it was straight to penalty kicks to decide which would move on to the quarter-finals.

The Czechs were excellent at the start. With towering striker Jan Koller playing alone up front, they bossed the game and looked headed for early goals and decisive victory. Koller steered in a header to put the Czechs ahead on 34 minutes. Early in the second half, Turkey played with new determination, but Jaroslav Plasil scored for the Czechs again on 62 minutes.

It looked over. But Arda Turan scored for Turkey at the 75th minute and that meant a tense, thrilling final 15 minutes that might send the game to penalties. As the Turkish pressure increased, Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, considered one of the best in the world, made a costly mistake. He fumbled a ball. Nihat Kahveci pounced. That was in the 87th minute. Two minutes later, Nihat did it again. It was 3-2 for Turkey.

Four minutes of extra time were added by the referee, and no sooner had they begun, Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel was red-carded for elbowing Koller, who was leading a desperate Czech charge for the equalizer. Turkey had used all of its substitutes. Tuncay Sanli went in goal, but Turkey survived the dying minutes of a game that will long be considered a classic.

To the joyous fans, it must have felt like more than a rebuke. It must have felt like the revenge of the working class.