Turkey 3 – 1 Georgia

Turkey scored two goal of the tournament contenders as they started their Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-1 win over fearless newcomers Georgia.

Vincenzo Montella’s side made a strong start in Dortmund and, after Kaan Ayhan struck the woodwork, they established a deserved lead with one of the crispest strikes of the tournament so far.

A cross from Ferdi Kadioglu was headed away into the path of Mert Muldur, who found the top right corner with a stunning first-time volley.

With the Georgia defence still reeling from the opener, Kenan Yildiz was denied a second inside two minutes after a VAR review spotted he had strayed offside before a close-range finish.

Willy Sagnol’s side subsequently took advantage of the reprieve, with Georges Mikautadze beating Mert Gunok at his near post to score the nation’s first goal at a major international tournament.

The momentum began to sway in Turkey’s favour after the break, but Georgia just about kept them at bay – until Guler found a pocket of space on the right, drove to the edge of the box and curled a beauty into the top corner.

The 19-year-old became just the third teenager to score on their first appearance in the Euros, after Ferenc Bene for Hungary against Spain in 1964 and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal against Greece in 2004.

Turkey and Georgia fans separated by police after fighting

Fighting broke out between fans of Turkey and Georgia inside Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion ahead of the teams’ European Championship match on Tuesday.

The brawling took place at ground level in one corner of the stadium, with supporters seen throwing punches and objects at each other as security attempted to intervene in pouring rain.

The fighting stopped when police officers in riot gear came between them. A thick line of officers remained in place, with some standing in the stairwell alongside Georgia fans.

The nations share a border of around 270 kilometres (170 miles).

There had been no sign of any disorder earlier in the day as both sets of fans mixed in Dortmund’s city centre.

Driving rain forced fans with seats in lower levels of the stadium to take cover. Some fan zones around Germany did not open on Tuesday because of the forecast inclement weather.

Dortmund Police have since confirmed criminal proceedings have been initiated.

A statement released on Tuesday evening said: “During both fan walks, individual pyrotechnic items were set off. This resulted in minor injuries to a few fans and two police officers. In this connection, one person was taken into custody until the end of the event. Appropriate criminal proceedings have been initiated.

“Shortly before the start of the game, there was also a physical altercation between several people from both fan groups in the stadium. The immediate intervention of security and police forces was able to stop the altercation. Criminal proceedings were also initiated in this case.”

Still Georgia pushed. Giorgi Kochorashvili struck the crossbar, before a mix-up between himself and Mikautadze saw a late chance come and go, and a free-kick was bounced onto the right-hand post and away.

But in the final stages, Gunok punched a corner clear and, with his opposite number Giorgi Mamardashvili having come forward for the set-piece, Kerem Akturkoglu raced clear towards an open goal and slotted in to seal the win.

How Muldur’s stunner put Turkey in front

And how Guler added a sensational second

Stats: Story of the match

Montella dreaming of progression after hitting first target

Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella:

“It was a match worthy of the finals. I’m turning 50 today so this was the best present I could have received.

“We’ve never got beyond the group stage in the last three Euros; we didn’t even pick up a point last time.

“Our first target was to win this match. Now we’ve won it, the dream is to win the next one and reach the knockout stage.”

Sagnol ‘convinced’ Georgia will deliver similar performance against Czech Rep

Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol:

On whether he is happy after a 3-1 defeat to Turkey: “Yes and no. I think when you lose it’s never nice, obviously. But I think for me and my team, the most important things are something else. And I think we have given such a nice, nice image of Georgian football. We can be proud of that.

“Of course we had a lot of opportunities to score, probably as much as Turkey did. But that’s football, you know, one wins and another one loses. I don’t want to say we are happy losers today but we can be proud of our performance.”

On chances of getting out of the group: “To get out of the group of course when you start Euro you can have this goal. But for us, as I said, the most important thing is to provide good performances because this is how we are going to get better also in the future.

“Georgia is still in a very important phase of development and competitions like that should help all the players and staff to be even stronger in the future. But for sure, I can tell you already on Saturday I am convinced that we are going to provide the same kind of performance. And I am very excited already thinking about Saturday.”