EURO 2024 THRILLER! TURKEY’S TEEN SENSATION GULER SHINES AGAINST BRAVE GEORGIAN DEBUTANTS
Written by Neo Molefi on June 19, 2024
Written by: Floyd Nkanyane
Dortmund, Germany – The Euro 2024 clash between Turkey and first-timers Georgia had everything – drama, history, young stars announcing themselves on the big stage, and some absolutely sublime goals.
It was a baptism of fire for Georgia In their first ever major tournament match, but they gave as good as they got against their more experienced opponents. However, the night belonged to 19-year-old Turkish wonder kid Arda Guler.
The Real Madrid midfielder wrote his name into the record books, becoming the youngest player ever to score on his European Championship debut with an outrageous curling effort from outside the box midway through the second half. Take a bow, young man!
Guler’s moment of magic put Turkey 2-1 up after Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze had equalized with a neat flicked finish, making history himself by scoring his country’s first ever goal at a major tournament.
The pulsating encounter had sparked into life earlier when Turkey veteran Mert Muldur crashed home a thunderous volley that would have graced any World Cup final to break the deadlock.
As the rain poured down, the drama reached fever pitch late on. Georgia laid siege to the Turkish goal, hitting the woodwork twice through Giorgi Kochorashvili and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who also saw keeper Mert Gunok make an incredible goal-line stop.
With Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili thrown up for a last-gasp corner, Turkey broke away and Kerem Akturkoglu applied the coup de grace into the empty net to seal an entertaining 3-1 win.
A star was well and truly born on the big stage in Guler, but Georgia showed they are more than ready to mix it with the big boys despite their defeat. Euro 2024 has definitely come alive after this pulsating Group F clash!