– Georgia creates a big European Championship sensation and is in the round of 16
The underdogs beat Portugal 2-0. And in the second game, the Turks managed to advance to the next round against the Czech Republic.
Great jubilation for the Georgians: In their European Championship debut, they are in the round of 16.
Photo: Ozan Kose (AFP)
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It was one of those evenings. Nothing went right for the favorite and the underdog did everything. Under the direction of Swiss referee Sandro Schärer, Georgia beat Portugal 2-0. And the success was not stolen.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez made a huge rotation of the starting line-up, making eight changes compared to the 3-0 win against Turkey. Cristiano Ronaldo was again given the starting role as captain, setting a record. He is the first European player to play 50 games at European Championship and World Cup finals.
But the game started badly. After just two minutes, the favorites were behind. Antonio Silva made a bad pass in midfield. Georges Mikautadze took advantage and launched Chwitscha Kwarazchelia, who confidently completed the counterattack.
Ronaldo first drew attention to himself after a quarter of an hour. He tested Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili with a free kick. The latter passed the test and cleared the ball confidently with his fists. The Georgian goalkeeper continued to drive the Portuguese to despair with further saves throughout the rest of the match.
Things got even worse for the favorites after 57 minutes. Mikautadze converted a penalty to make the final score 2-0 and thus a sensation. Georgia qualified for the round of 16 as third in its group in its first European Championship appearance. Now the underdog will face Spain.
Turkey is also in the round of 16. The team around Arda Güler, who was in the starting line-up, won 2-1 against the Czech Republic. Hakan Calhanoglu put Turkey in the lead in the 51st minute. Tomas Soucek equalized for the Czechs in the 66th minute. They had to play with fewer players from the 20th minute onwards as Antonin Barak was sent off with a second yellow card. Cenk Tosun made it 2-1 in the 94th minute. The Turks will play against Austria in the round of 16, while Portugal will face Slovenia.
Phew, take a deep breath.
Good. What just happened here? So: The Portuguese are through, that was clear anyway. The Turks are through too, but they had to tremble a lot. And the Georgians are through. That is the really, really big story of this group phase! Georgia beat Portugal 2-0. This also means that Hungary is eliminated as the fifth best third-placed team in the group.
And with that, we say goodbye for now. You will find a summary here shortly. Until then: good night! And thank you for following along!
Things are going a bit crazy in Hamburg right now. A streaker runs onto the field, then players from both teams clash, Czech player Chory gets a red card and a few others get a yellow card. Wow, what a finale!
It’s over for the Czechs, they need two goals but have no time left for that.
This match is over! Georgia is in the round of 16! How crazy is that?
Turkey is through! Turkey is through! Cenk Tosun does it!
The substitute striker takes an incredibly long time at first, but then he takes advantage of the space and hits the far corner with a sharp shot: 2-1! The decision!
The Czechs throw everything forward once again. But everything is not that much right now. A cross from Jurasek flies over friend and foe and out of play.
Yilmaz with a shot. No problem for goalie Kovar.
A total of six minutes will be replayed.
We’re in the last minutes of the group phase. Is there still something in it for the Czechs? Not at all: Krejci fouls Yilmaz and is shown a yellow card.
The Turks seem to have overcome a difficult phase for now. They now have the ball more often and are finding space for counterattacks. If only they could finish them better than Tosun did with his rarely bad pass.
But watch out! The Turks almost made the decision! Yokuslu shoots sharply from around 20 meters, but the ball flies just over. And immediately afterwards, captain Calhanoglu leaves the field. Kökcü comes on for him.
Another yellow card, the Turks are not getting on so well with the Czechs. Akaydin is cautioned.
A sports journalist well known to listeners of the 3rd Half podcast is writing in a group chat: “I think I’m going to buy a Georgia jersey.” We think: Absolutely! Because the Georgians are very, very close to a big sensation here. They are still leading 2-0 against Portugal!
And there was the opportunity! Kuchta appeared in front of the Turkish goal and even scored! But he paved his way with too many fouls. The whole thing didn’t count.
Jurasek comes on for Jurasek. Nice substitution. New in the game: David Jurasek.
Yes, the Turks are nervous. Müldür complains and gets a yellow card.
The Turks don’t really know what to do right now. Did they feel a little too safe? At the moment they are being pushed back by the outnumbered Czechs.
Coufal tries to take a corner, but is then hit with cups and bottles. A bad habit at this European Championship, something that has rarely been seen so often at major tournaments.
Lots of changes! Lingr comes in for Provod. And Tosun and Aktürkoglu are new for the Turks. The super talents Güler and Yildiz have to go.
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