Everything ready for the match between Türkiye and Georgia to begin. The Argentine referee Facundo Tello will be in charge of dispensing justice in tonight’s clash. He is assisted in the VAR by the Canarian Alejandro Hernández Hernández.
5. 11 of Türkiye’s 14 goals in the European Championship have come after half-time. In fact, 10 of them have come in the second half of matches, with Semih Sentürk scoring his other goal in the second half of extra time against Croatia in 2008, the latest goal scored in the Euro (121:01).
4. Türkiye has lost six of its last seven games in the European Championship (W1). Furthermore, they have only kept a clean sheet once in their last 12 games in the tournament, in a 2-0 group stage victory against the Czech Republic at Euro 2016.
3. Turkey is participating in its sixth European Championship, but it is the first time it has qualified for the tournament in three consecutive editions. Their best result to date is a semi-final in 2008.
2. This is Georgia’s first match in a major international tournament. Since 2012, three of the eight nations that have debuted in the European Championship have won their first match in history (D1 L4): Ukraine beat Sweden in 2012, Wales beat Slovakia in 2016 and Finland beat Denmark in 2020.
1. Turkey have won three of their five meetings with Georgia in all competitions (D1 L1), this being their first meeting since a 3-1 friendly win in May 2012. Georgia’s only previous win came in a friendly in February 2007 (1-0).
Let’s go with some data about both teams ahead of the match!
The Georgian team remains immersed in the euphoria of having reached the Euro Cup finals for the first time in its history. They achieved it after defeating Greece in the penalty shootout in the playoff final to reach the round, all with the presence between the sticks of the Valencian Giorgi Mamardashvili, one of the best-known faces of the Georgian team.
In the preparatory matches prior to the start of the competition, the team led by Willy Sagnol, legendary right back of the French team, tied against Italy (0-0) and lost against Poland (2-1). In the case of Georgia, they won their only match against Montenegro (3-1).
Turkey qualified for its third European Championship in a row after finishing the qualifying phase as first in the group, ahead of Croatia, Wales, Armenia and Latvia. Now, the Ottoman team wants to transfer this success to the final phase of the tournament, with the aim of playing in a round of 16 that they have not reached since Euro 2008, when they made history by reaching the semifinals against Germany.
This duel at 6:00 p.m. (Spanish peninsular time) between the Turkish and Georgian teams will be the first in Group F of Euro 2024, in which Portugal and the Czech Republic are also paired, who will face each other at 9:00 p.m.: 00h. Vicenzo Montella’s men arrive at this Euro in low times – they have not won any of their four friendlies played in 2024 – but convinced that they can turn the situation around against a Georgia that is the debutant of this edition.
On the bench of Georgia: Luka Gugeshashvili as a substitute goalkeeper, Budu Zivzivadze, Zuriko Davitashvili, Giorgi Kvilitaia, Giorgi Gocholeishvili, Luka Lochoshvili, Giorgi Gvelesiani, Nika Kvekveskiri, Otar Kiteishvili, Sandro Altunash An Shengelia, Saba Lobjanidze, Jimmy Tabidze and Gabriel Siga .
On the Turkish bench: Altay Bayindir and Ugurcan Cakir as substitute goalkeepers, Zeki Çelik, Merih Demiral, Okay Yokuslu, Kerem Aktürkoglu, Cenk Tosun, Yusuf Yazici, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Salih Özcan, Ismail Yüksek, Semih Kiliçsoy, Yunus Akgün and Bertug Yildirim .
Georgia makes its debut in the continental competition with its gala eleven. Napoli striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgians’ top scorer (4) in the qualifying phase, is one of the most offensive players along with Georges Mikautadze, from French side Metz. In goal, he will have his main figure in Giorgi Mamardashvili, Valencia goalkeeper.
The big news in the eleven that Vicenzo Montella presents in Turkey is the ownership of Arda Güler, who had not played a single minute in the two preparation matches for the Euro. The Italian coach starts with Baris Alper Yilmaz as a center forward, placing Orkun Kökçü in the midfield. Hakan Çalhanoglu’s captaincy is one of the Ottoman team’s assets in the midfield.
For its part, England will start with (5-3-2): Giorgi Mamardashvili – Otar Kakabadze, Solomon Kverkvelia, Guram Kashia, Lasha Dvali, Giorgi Tsitaishvili – Otra Kochorashvili, Anzor Mekvabishvili, Giorgi Chakvetadze – Georges Mikautadze and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Turkey comes out with the following eleven players (4-2-3-1): Mert Günok – Mert Müldür, Samet Akaydin, Abdülkerim Bardakci, Ferdi Kadioglu – Kaan Ayhan, Hakan Çalhanoglu – Arda Güler, Orkun Kökçü, Kenan Yildiz – Baris Alper Yilmaz .
We now have the lineups for both teams!
Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to the match between the Turkish and Georgian teams, which meet at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund in a match valid for the first day of Group F of Euro 2024. Let’s start with the preview!
