Turkey vs Georgia. European Championships Group F.
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Report from Euro 2024 as goal of the tournament contenders from Mert Muldur and Real Madrid wonderkid Arda Guler helped Vincenzo Montella's Turkey start with a win; Georges Mikautadze equalised with Georgia's first goal at a major tournament
Wednesday 19 June 2024 06:05, UK
Turkey scored two goal of the tournament contenders as they started their Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-1 win over fearless newcomers Georgia.
Vincenzo Montella's side made a strong start in Dortmund and, after Kaan Ayhan struck the woodwork, they established a deserved lead with one of the crispest strikes of the tournament so far.
A cross from Ferdi Kadioglu was headed away into the path of Mert Muldur, who found the top right corner with a stunning first-time volley.
With the Georgia defence still reeling from the opener, Kenan Yildiz was denied a second inside two minutes after a VAR review spotted he had strayed offside before a close-range finish.
Willy Sagnol's side subsequently took advantage of the reprieve, with Georges Mikautadze beating Mert Gunok at his near post to score the nation's first goal at a major international tournament.
The momentum began to sway in Turkey's favour after the break, but Georgia just about kept them at bay - until Guler found a pocket of space on the right, drove to the edge of the box and curled a beauty into the top corner.
The 19-year-old became just the third teenager to score on their first appearance in the Euros, after Ferenc Bene for Hungary against Spain in 1964 and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal against Greece in 2004.
Still Georgia pushed. Giorgi Kochorashvili struck the crossbar, before a mix-up between himself and Mikautadze saw a late chance come and go, and a free-kick was bounced onto the right-hand post and away.
But in the final stages, Gunok punched a corner clear and, with his opposite number Giorgi Mamardashvili having come forward for the set-piece, Kerem Akturkoglu raced clear towards an open goal and slotted in to seal the win.
Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella:
"It was a match worthy of the finals. I'm turning 50 today so this was the best present I could have received.
"We've never got beyond the group stage in the last three Euros; we didn't even pick up a point last time.
"Our first target was to win this match. Now we've won it, the dream is to win the next one and reach the knockout stage."
Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol:
On whether he is happy after a 3-1 defeat to Turkey: "Yes and no. I think when you lose it's never nice, obviously. But I think for me and my team, the most important things are something else. And I think we have given such a nice, nice image of Georgian football. We can be proud of that.
"Of course we had a lot of opportunities to score, probably as much as Turkey did. But that's football, you know, one wins and another one loses. I don't want to say we are happy losers today but we can be proud of our performance."
On chances of getting out of the group: "To get out of the group of course when you start Euro you can have this goal. But for us, as I said, the most important thing is to provide good performances because this is how we are going to get better also in the future.
"Georgia is still in a very important phase of development and competitions like that should help all the players and staff to be even stronger in the future. But for sure, I can tell you already on Saturday I am convinced that we are going to provide the same kind of performance. And I am very excited already thinking about Saturday."
