Sensational Georgia. In Gelsenkirchen this Wednesday, Willy Sagnol’s gang delighted the many supporters gathered in the stands, by winning Portugal (2-0), despite being one of the favorites of the competition.
Georgia extends its dream
Faced with a reshuffled Portugal team, Georges Mikautadze and his partners pulled out all the stops. Qualified this summer in Germany for the first major competition in its history, Georgia continues its crazy adventure and a round of 16 against Spain now awaits them on Sunday in Cologne (9 p.m.). The attacking duo Mikautadze – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was clinical, making the most of the generosity of the Lusitanian defense. From the start, at the end of a supersonic counterattack, the Neapolitan, served by Messin, deceived with a cross shot a Diogo Costa who came out to meet him (2nd).
Cornered in their own camp and saved by an always impeccable Giorgi Mamardashvili (4 saves), Georgia showed bravery and discipline to then score on the hour mark. Full of composure, King George distinguished again by converting a penalty (57th), a third goal which made him the best fireworks scorer in the Euro at the end of the group stages. Waiting for better.
Turkey qualified for the eighth against valiant Czechs
The Czech Republic tried everything to qualify for the round of 16 but ultimately failed against Turkey (1-2). The commando mission of Ivan Hasek’s men quickly deteriorated. After collecting two yellow cards in less than ten minutes, Fiorentina attacking midfielder Antonin Barak was sent off in the first period (20th). The Turks took advantage and Hakan Calhanoglu brought back fond memories of the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, where he had revealed himself in 2013-2014 in the Bundesliga with HSV, by opening the scoring with a beautiful whipped shot from the right ( 51st).
Courageous, the Czechs did not give up and Tomas Soucek equalized from ambush by taking advantage of a big error by Turkish goalkeeper Fehmi Mert Günok (66th). In a tense end to the match, it was ultimately Turkey who won thanks to a counter goal from Cenk Tosun (90th+4), thus condemning the Czech Republic to last place in the group. The Turks will face Austria on Tuesday in Leipzig (9 p.m.).
