EURO classic in all ways as Turkey sealed a 3-1 win over Georgia at the Signal Iduna Park. The game was under a little threat due to the heavy rainfall today, but the play went on and every football fan around the world, except the Georgians, will be happy it did.
An end-to-end game from start to finish with both sides confident on the ball and ready to go for a goal at every opportunity. Mert Müldür opened the scoring in the 25th minute for Turkey and that opened the game even more.
Georgia were looking to attack straight away and got caught at the back as Yildiz put the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0 to Turkey. However, the Turkish star was just inches offside when the ball was played and VAR ruled it out.
Georges Mikautadze made the most of that and equalized for Georgia in the 32nd minute with a near post shot from inside the box. The score remained intact until halftime.
Arda Guler showed the world his talent with a belter from outside the box in the 65th minute. What can be described as a goal of the tournament contender, it gave Giorgi Mamardashvili no chance to save it.
Georgia went all out for the equalizer and ended up hitting the post in the final seconds. The goalkeeper went up for the corner, but unfortunately, the ball was cleared by his Turkish counterpart Mert Günok and Kerem Aktürkoğlu put the ball into the empty net to make it 3-1 in the Euro 2024 clash.
Turkey National Football Team Player Ratings vs Georgia
GOALKEEPER
Mert Günok – 7: A top performance from the Turkish goalkeeper and that helped them secure the win. He made 3 saves and was accurate with most of his passes too.
DEFENDERS
Mert Müldür – 8: The right-back was at his best today and will be remembered by the Turkish fans for years to come. He was up and down the pitch today and even scored a goal.
Samet Akaydin – 7.5: The center-back was spot-on with most of his tackles and made 5 clearances as well. Headed the ball out in the final seconds of the game when the ball was all but going in.
Abdülkerim Bardakcı – 7: A rock at the back and was the key reason why Mikautadze could not score more than one goal in the match.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu – 7.5: Similar to Muldur but just could not get on the scoresheet. Was brilliant defensively.
MIDFIELDERS
Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 7: The Turrkish star delivered a captain’s performance once again. No goal or assist, but without him, they could have suffered in the midfield.
Kaan Ayhan – 7: Was as good as Calhanoglu, if not better. Should be praised for his commitment to sit back and help the defenders. He also got the assist for Arda Guler’s goal.
Orkun Kökçü – 6: Not a match to remember for Kokcu as he was hardly able to influence the game.
FORWARD
Arda Güler – 9: Man of the match display from the youngster and what a goal to get Turkey ahead in the second half. A memorable EURO debut for him, and he is set for greater heights.
Barış Alper Yılmaz – 6: Not the best game for the striker as he managed just one shot. and that was also blocked easily.
Kenan Yıldız – 6.5: Could have done a lot better but was getting outdone by his own teammate Kadıoğlu on the left flank.
SUBSTITUTES
Merih Demiral – 6
Yusuf Yazıcı – 6
Zeki Çelik – 6
Kerem Aktürkoğlu – 7.5
Salih Özcan – 6
MANAGER
Vincenzo Montella – 8
Also Read: Georges Mikautadze Scores Georgia’s First Major Event Goal
Georgia National Football Team Player Ratings vs Turkey
GOALKEEPER
Giorgi Mamardashvili – 7: Cannot be blamed for the goals, and he did make 5 great saves to keep them in the game until the very end.
DEFENDERS
Solomon Kvirkvelia – 6: Decent game for the RCB as he was never dribbled past nor did he put a foot wrong in the 85 minutes on the pitch.
Guram Kashia – 6.5: The Georgian captain was the best defender on the pitch for his side. There was hardly anything he could have done for the three goals.
Lasha Dvali – 6: Similar to Kvirkvelia, but he was losing possession more often than not. Could have closed down Guler before he took the shot for his goal.
MIDFIELDERS
Otar Kakabadze – 7: Was decent and helped the defenders keep Yildiz quiet in the game. However, was troubled by Kadioglu and could not return the favor.
Giorgi Chakvetadze – 6.5: Overall a decent outing but just could not get the final third passing right.
Anzor Mekvabishvili – 7: Did a good job in linking up play and helping the defense. But could have done a lot more for the Arda Guler goal.
Giorgi Kochorashvili – 8: Georgia’s best player on the pitch. He was up and down to help his teammates and came very close to scoring in the final seconds of the match.
Giorgi Tsitaishvili – 5.5: Relatively poor in the match and was unable to influence play as much as his side needed him.
FORWARDS
Georges Mikautadze – 7.5: A goal to remember for the striker as he scores Georgia’s first at a major tournament. He could have added another late in the game, but his teammate came in the way.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 6.5: Tried a lot to get goals for Georgia and was unstoppable sometimes. However, he would not be pleased at the outcome and his performance today.
SUBSTITUTES
Zuriko Davitashvili – 6
Luka Lochoshvili – 6
Budu Zivzivadze – 6
Sandro Altunashvili – 6
MANAGER
Willy Sagnol – 7
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