► Turkey defeats Georgia
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), Tuesday June 18 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 its eighth final phase in Germany, Euro and World Cup combined, dominated, but trembled until the end.
► Portugal victorious at the last minute
Still in Group F, Portugal, dominant but imprecise, struggled to overcome the Czech Republic 2 goals 1 for their entry into the running, Tuesday evening in Leipzig.
Lukás Provod, with a powerful shot into the top corner, opened the scoring for the Czechs against the run of play, shortly after the hour mark (62nd). Portugal equalized seven minutes later with an own goal from defender Robin Hranac before Francisco Conceiçao, who had just come on, offered a logical victory to Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammates in added time (90+2). With this close victory, the Portuguese can breathe before facing Turkey on June 22.
