In front of 59,127 spectators, Müldür put Turkey in the lead with a spectacular volley (25th minute), but Georges Mikautadze equalized for Georgia before half-time (32nd minute). Güler restored the Turkish lead with a perfect long-range shot (65th minute), before “joker” Kerem Aktürkoglu sealed the victory for the Turks in injury time. The self-sacrificing debutant Georgia, on the other hand, was unlucky when Giorgi Kochorashvili’s shot hit the post (70th minute).
Turkey has thus taken the first step towards advancing to the round of 16 in a group with former European champions Portugal and the 1996 European Championship finalists, the Czech Republic. The Portuguese, led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, will be the Turks’ next opponents again in Dortmund on Saturday (6 p.m. live on ORF1). The Georgians will face the Czechs before that (3 p.m.).
Müldür’s volley puts Türkiye in the lead
The Viennese-born player scored the 1-0 for Turkey with a spectacular volley in the 25th minute.
Storm sweeps across Dortmund
The match in the Westfalenstadion was certainly a historic moment for European football. For the first time, a Georgian selection took part in a major event. From an Austrian perspective, the starting eleven of team manager Willy Sagnol was missing striker Otar Kiteischwili. He was initially on the bench due to an injury. Sandro Altunaschwili from WAC also watched for the time being. Instead, Chwitscha Kwarazchelia, nicknamed “Kwaradona” in reference to Diego Maradona, was part of the team. The Turks countered with Milan maestro Hakan Calhanoglu and 19-year-old young star Güler from Real Madrid.
Speaking of storms: The excitement in the stands, which was marred by fights between individual groups of fans, was a perfect match for the real excitement before the game. Around an hour and a half before kick-off, a powerful thunderstorm had formed over the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, causing torrential rain to fall from the roofs of the stands. The fan zones in Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund also had to be closed due to the storm.
Fast-paced start
On the pitch of the Westfalen Arena, which was well watered by the rain that continued to pour down from the sky and which could only be made ready for play with the great effort of volunteers, the Turks, driven by their fans, took control from the start as expected. The Georgians tried to hold out from a secure defense and literally had their hands full against the wildly attacking men in red.
The first few minutes were definitely not for the faint-hearted. Kaan Ayhan headed just over the bar (6th minute), Abdülkerim Bardakci (10th minute) just missed, and then Ayhan even hit the Georgian post (11th minute). Immediately afterwards, the Turkish fans’ battle chants almost got stuck in their throats, as goalie Mert Günök turned a deflected shot from Kwarazchelia just past the post (12th minute) – more than just a warning shot from the European Championship debutants.
Ayhan hits the post (10.)
Ayhan, who had previously headed just over the bar, came within a few centimeters of the Turkish lead.
Georgia counters Mürdür’s dream goal
Even though the Turks continued to have the upper hand, the Georgian chance was a clear warning signal for the counterattack strength of the underdogs. It was the “Austrian” contribution that broke the spell – and it was worth seeing. Müldür, who was born in Vienna, volleyed the ball under the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area and made the stands shake (25th minute). Less than two minutes later, the preliminary decision seemed to have been made after Kenan Yildiz had pushed the ball over the line (27th minute). However, the VAR stopped the Turkish celebrations: Yildiz was offside.
AP/Martin Meissner Yildiz turned too early to celebrate, his supposed goal was disallowed for offside
Georgia wobbled considerably, but the Turks were probably thinking too much about the 2-0 goal that had not been given. It was difficult to explain the phase of passivity otherwise. In any case, the Georgians said thank you and fought their way back into the game. And how: Mikautadze took advantage of the Turkish carelessness after a nice relay of passes to equalize with Georgia’s first goal at a major tournament (32′). What’s more, just a short time later, the FC Metz striker even had the chance to take the lead (36′).
Mikautadze equalizes (32.)
The Metz striker completed a beautiful combination for Georgia’s first goal at a major tournament
Turkish “Messi” strikes
The intensity of the match remained high after the break, as did the tempo. The action swayed back and forth. Mikautadze had the chance to put Georgia in the lead after a nice combination, but the Turkish defenders prevented the equalizer scorer from scoring after a spectacular ball reception and turn on a beer mat (52nd minute). On the other side, Calhanoglu tested Giorgi Mamardashvili with a free kick (57th minute) – at 126 km/h, the ball was just under the speed limit on Austrian motorways.
Because even the most beautiful combinations did not change the score, another dream goal was needed. In the 65th minute, Güler showed with a long-range shot into the top left corner not only why Real Madrid paid Fenerbahce Istanbul a transfer fee of 20 million euros two years ago, but also why he is compared to Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi. Mamardashvili’s 1.97 meters were not enough against the perfectly curved shot.
Rod prevents possible point
But the famous cheese was far from over, because Georgia had no desire to end their first European Championship match as losers. Less than five minutes after Güler’s dream goal, the Georgian fans were once again shouting for a goal, but this turned into a disappointed murmur when the crossbar got in the way of Kochorashvili’s equaliser (70′). Despite the deep ground, the chance was preceded by a one-two pass that was just right.
The Georgians, who now also included Luka Lotschoschwili, who once saved the life of the Austrian Georg Teigl while playing for Wolfsberger AC, and the current WAC player Altunaschwili, put everything on the line. But with their combined strength, the Turks kept the ball away from the goal. In injury time, Georgia threw everything forward, including the goalkeeper, and came very close to the longed-for point, but Aktürkoglu sealed the victory with an empty-net goal (97′).
UEFA Euro 2024, Group F, first matchday
Tuesday:
Türkiye – Georgia 3:1 (1:1)
Dortmund, 59,127, SR Facundo Tello (ARG)
Tore:
1:0 Muldur (25th)
1:1 Mikautade (32.)
2:1 Laughs (65th)
3:1 Aktürkoglu (97th)
Türkiye: Günok – Müldür (85th/Celik), Akaydin, Bardakci, Kadioglu – Ayhan (79th/Demiral), Calhanoglu (91st/Özcan) – Güler (79th/Yazici), Kökcü, Yildiz (85th/Aktürgoglu) – Yilmaz
Georgia: Mamardashvili – Kakabadze, Kverkvelia (85./Zivzivadze), Kashia, Dvali, Tsitaishvili (74./Lochoshvili) – Kochorashvili, Mekvabishvili (89./Altunaschwili), Chakvetadze (74./Davitashvili) – Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia
Yellow cards: Bardakci, Calhanoglu and Kverkvelia
