Georgia makes its debut at a major football tournament when the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people plays Turkey in Group F at the European Championship.
FOLLOW THE MATCH LIVE HERE: TURKEY vs GEORGIA LIVE SCORE, UPDATES
It is the only debutant at Euro 2024, though it still has a pedigree at the tournament. Three Georgian players were in the Soviet Union team that won the inaugural title in 1960. The country has celebrated the national team being on the big stage for the first time by releasing commemorative stamps and putting special coins in circulation for the occasion.
Turkey was many pundits’ highly fancied outsiders at the last Euros but flopped, losing all three of its group games and scoring just one goal. The national team has gone more under the radar this time, despite topping a qualifying group containing Croatia.
Former Italy striker Vincenzo Montella is Turkey’s coach, somewhat by accident. He ended up in the job in September 2023 having been working in Turkish club soccer as coach of Adana Demirspor for the previous two years.
Arda Guler, a 19-year-old playmaker at Real Madrid, is set to be the beating heart of Turkey’s team for the first time at a major tournament — and is expected to star for the national team for years.
İrfan Can Kahveci and Cenk Tosun have been training separately ahead of the game while defender Ozan Kabak was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining an ACL injury in the warmup games.
(with inputs from AP)
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE THE MATCH?
“We all need to try to create another miracle and reward our support with more beautiful days.” — Georgia midfielder Nika Kvekveskiri.
“Euro 2020 was disappointing for us. We were a young team back then, and we still are. We are well-prepared for this tournament ... I believe we are ready for this tournament.” — Turkey defender Merih Demiral.
TURKEY vs GEORGIA PREDICTED LINE-UPS, FORMATIONS
Turkey (4-2-3-1): Gunok; Ayhan, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Ozcan, Calhanoglu; Guler, Yildiz, Akturkoglu; Yilmaz
Georgia (3-5-2): Mamardashvili; Lochoshvili, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Kochorashvili, Kiteishvili, Shengelia, Chakvetadze; Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze.
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