Georgia Shows Heart In Euro 2024 Clash Despite Turkiye's Triumph

Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol believes his players will learn from their defeat to Turkiye, but he expressed pride in his side's performance in Dortmund. The 75th-ranked team in the world captured the hearts of many neutrals in their first game at Euro 2024, coming close to securing a point late on.

Georges Mikautadze made history by scoring Georgia's first-ever goal at a major tournament following Mert Muldur's opener. However, the team was undone by a piece of individual brilliance from Arda Guler before Kerem Akturkoglu sealed a 3-1 win late on.

"I don't want to say we are happy losers today but I think we can be proud of our performance," Sagnol told reporters. "We have given such a nice image of the Georgian footballer but of course, we had a lot of opportunities to score, probably as much as Turkey did. But that's football. I'm sure in the future, in the next months and years, Georgia won't lose this kind of game. We are in a learning process, but we want to learn in a good way."

Great goals lift Turkiye to victory

For Turkiye, this victory marked their first win in an opening game of a European Championship finals, having lost each of their previous five. A significant contributor was Real Madrid's Arda Guler, whose stunning strike showcased his talent. Guler revealed he had practised this particular shot in the lead-up to the game.

"I am just thrilled, no words to describe how I feel. I was dreaming of this goal constantly," Guler said. "I've been practising this particular shot recently at the end of training sessions. I'm so happy to have scored this way."

Along with being the youngest ever debut scorer at the European Championship finals (19y 114d), Arda Guler's five chances created against Georgia are the joint-most by a teenager in a game in the competition (since 1980).

Montella's Perfect Birthday

Turkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella celebrated the triumph on his 50th birthday, with Guler delivering the boss his only wish. "My coach had wanted a goal as a birthday present," Guler told reporters. "I hope I can continue these goals."

Montella was equally pleased with how his birthday had panned out, labelling the result as "the perfect day" as preparations turn to their game against Portugal on Saturday, who beat Czechia late on in the other Group F contest.

"We are just thrilled," Montella said. "It was a lot of coincidences coming together today, my 50th birthday, Eid at home, the Euro opener. It really was the perfect day, in terms of the spirit and in terms of the best present I could get."