Turkey has finally arrived there: for the first time in its history, it won its first match in a major meeting by overcoming Georgia without complexes (3-1) on Tuesday in Dortmund.
The downpours which fell on the Westfalenstadion, an hour before kick-off, did not dampen the enthusiasm of the 55,000 excited Turkish supporters. It came close – a crossbar, an opponent’s header or even a mistake in front of goal – for Georgia to achieve it, at the end of a match of crazy intensity.
Turkey, which is playing in Germany the eighth final phase of a major tournament – Euro and World Cup combined – in its history, dominated but trembled until the end. She logically opened the scoring in the 25th minute thanks to Mert Müldür, who volleyed Ferdi Kadioglu’s cross, poorly cleared by the Georgian defense.
Vincenzo Montella’s men thought they would double the lead two minutes later on a counter-attack from Kenan Yildiz, but the Juve striker was offside by a few centimeters.
Georgia, on the verge of a knockout, reacted brilliantly and equalized in the 32nd minute thanks to Georges Mikautadze. By sliding the ball through a mouse hole, the striker – returned to Metz after a failed first part of the season at Ajax – became the first scorer in Georgia’s history in a major event. He could have given his team the lead three minutes later, but alone in the area, he narrowly missed the target.
Under renewed rain, Turkey took control of operations after the break but its captain Hakan Çalhanoglu came up against the Georgian goalkeeper on a free kick (56th).
Salvation came from a feat by 19-year-old prodigy Arda Güler, whose curling 25m shot found its way into the Georgian right corner.
More was needed to discourage the selection led by former French international Willy Sagnol. Giorgi Kochorashvili hit the crossbar in the 70th minute and Mikautadze missed a golden opportunity in added time.
While they tried everything by bringing their goalkeeper up on a corner, the Georgians were crucified by Kerem Aktürkoglu (90+7) to make their defeat far too severe.
