Turkey take on Georgia in the round 1 match of UEFA Euro-2024 in group F. The match will be played on Tuesday, June 18th at Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund).
Turkey performed admirably in the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, securing first place in their group by edging out Croatia by a single point. However, the defense of this team has never been its strong suit. Even during the qualification, Turkey conceded goals not only against Croatia (0-2) and Wales (1-2 and 1-1) but also against less formidable opponents like Armenia (1-2 and 1-1) and Latvia (3-2). After the qualification campaign, the "Moon Stars" played four friendly matches, conceding in three of them: against Hungary (0-1), Poland (1-2), and Austria (1-6). This leaves Turkey in a rather uneasy mood heading into their match against Georgia.
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For the first time, Georgia will participate in the European Championship as an independent team. They couldn't qualify directly through the group stage, finishing only fourth. However, in attack, Kvaratskhelia and company looked quite impressive, failing to score in only one of their eight qualifying games. They scored in both matches against Cyprus (4-0 and 2-1), against Norway (1-2 and 1-1), and in one of the matches against Scotland (2-2). Notably, the formidable Spain conceded goals from Georgia in both of their encounters, despite the high difficulty and ultimate defeats (1-3 and 1-7). After the qualifiers, the "Crusaders" advanced in the first round of the playoff cup against Luxembourg, scoring two goals. In a very recent friendly, Willy Sagnol's team managed a 3-1 victory over Montenegro.
Looking at Turkey's recent matches leading up to the start of the European Championship, their defense does not inspire much confidence. Yes, in the match against Georgia, which is debuting in this tournament, the "Moon Stars" appear to be the favorites. However, this does not necessarily mean that Turkey will keep a clean sheet even if they win. The Georgian team showed excellent attacking prowess during the Euro qualification, which played a significant role in their eventual trip to Germany. What do we conclude? The defense of the nominal hosts has been quite poor recently, while the potential guests have looked very promising in attack. My prediction: "Georgia to score: YES". I expect at least one accurate shot from Kvaratskhelia and company.
Prediction for the match: Georgia to score – yes.
