Türkiye’s manager Vincenzo Montella said his side’s hard-fought win over Georgia was the best present he could have asked for as he turned 50 today. He was joined in his post-match press conference by Arda Güler, who stole the show with a wonderstrike.
Georgia, who are at the Euros for the first time, gave Türkiye a run for their money with an equaliser after Mert Müldür’s opener. The Turks ultimately emerged victorious thanks to an incredible strike from Güler, then a last-minute third from Kerem Aktürkoğlu to finish 3-1.
What did Vincenzo Montella say?
Embed from Getty Images“It was a match surely worthy of the final stage of the European Championships. Our supporters were great throughout the whole match.
“By the way, I’m turning 50 today, so it really was the perfect day in terms of sport and in terms of the best present I could get. My lads really gave me the best possible present.”
With respect to their underdog opponents, he said: “It is a team that qualified for the final stage of the Euro and that doesn’t happen by chance. Physically they’re strong, they’re well organised, they’re aware of their strong points and weak points and they know how to defend themselves, they know how to attack. So it was a match that was absolutely worthy of these European Championships.”
He briefly commented on what his side would need to improve: “We had 22 shots on goal today. We need to be more accurate but I did appreciate the team, the performance. We relaxed a bit after the VAR disallowed the second goal, but that happens.”
Montella finally looked ahead to his team’s hopes for the next games.
“This victory is a first step but our first goal is to qualify, to get past the group stage. The next match will be against Portugal, and we’ve never beaten Portugal, so my dream right now is to win the next match, to qualify, and then more dreams will emerge.”
What did Arda Güler say?
Embed from Getty ImagesTürkiye’s Arda Güler made headlines with a wondergoal to put Türkiye back in front, but was quick to focus on the team’s performance as a whole.
“It was a tough game and I congratulate my team for the win. It isn’t enough to say the support was great; it was more than that. It was great to get the win for the coach.
“I don’t care about personal achievements; I’m all about the team and I’m delighted to pay my part.”
The 19-year-old, currently plying his trade for Real Madrid, said: “Of course I’m extremely happy to have scored my first goal for Türkiye.”
Follow reaction from the Georgian camp, and every other fixture of EURO2024, here on FromTheSpot.