Turkey made a winning start to Euro 2024 after defeating debutants Georgia 3-1 in the tournament's Group F opener.
The two teams offered the spectators attacking and attractive football with many chances, four goals and three goals.
It was a historic first match at a major football tournament for Georgia, with star player Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and his team-mates putting in a good performance but ultimately not taking a single point. Turkey started the match at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund and could have taken the lead in the 10th minute, but Kaan Ayhan's shot from the edge of the box hit the post. The Georgians struck first soon after, but Turkey still took the lead in the 25th minute when Mert Müldür scored with a superb volley.
Almost immediately afterwards, Vincenzo Montella's men scored a second goal through Kenan Yıldız, but VAR intervention saw the goal disallowed for a thin offside. The Georgians did not worry about the development of the match and equalized in the 32nd minute when Georges Mikoutadze scored from close range after a pass from Giorgi Kochorashvili. Minutes later, Georgia could have made a complete comeback, but Mikautadze's volley went inches wide of the post.
In the 65th minute came the moment of the young star of Real Madrid, Arda Güler. The 19-year-old midfielder scored with a phenomenal shot from a long distance that left no chance for the opponent's goalkeeper. Georgia came close to answering in the following minutes, but Kochorashvili hit the crossbar from a good position.
In the remaining minutes, Willy Sagnol's men pressed for an equaliser, coming close in added time, but the crossbar saved Turkey again, and at the very end, substitute Kerem Akturkoglu made it 3-1 into an empty net after a quick counter-attack.
Thus, Turkey made a successful start to Euro 2024, while Georgia may regret not winning anything from its debut match at a European championship. In the other match of this group, Portugal meets the Czech Republic. | BGNES
