Arda Güler: Teenage sensation scores wonder goal to help Turkey beat Georgia at Euro 2024
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Teenage soccer sensation Arda Güler, 19, produced a moment of magic to help Turkey beat Georgia 3-1 in an entertaining Group F game at Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
With the scores level at 1-1 in the second half, the Real Madrid star picked the ball up from approximately 25 yards before curling a beautiful effort into the top corner of the net.
The 65th-minute strike sparked frenzied scenes inside the Signal Iduna Park, with thousands of Turkey fans celebrating arguably the goal of the tournament so far.
It was a devastating blow for Georgia, though, which is making its debut at a major soccer tournament. Despite being the lowest ranked team at Euro 2024, its players can count themselves unlucky having pushed Turkey all the way in its opening group stage match.
A brilliant volley from Mert Müldür had given Turkey a 25th-minute lead, but Georgia equalized soon after when Georges Mikautadze’s shot squirmed into the net.
Georgia came excruciatingly close to snatching a dramatic late equalizer, before Kerem Aktürkoğlu made it 3-1 in the final seconds, putting the ball into an empty net after Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had gone forward for a corner.
Match of the tournament so far
The drama had started even before the game in Dortmund kicked off, with extreme weather causing havoc in parts of Germany.
Fan zones in the cities of Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne were all closed “for the safety of all fans“ according to their websites. Heavy rainfall, large hail stones and gale-force winds were in the forcast, according to the German Weather Service, which also warned of a tornado risk in the west of the country.
The rain, though, appeared to have very little impact on the game, which many on social media dubbed the best match of the tournament so far.
The final few moments in particular were pure entertainment, with Georgia hitting the post and then having an effort cleared off the line in its desperate search for another goal.
But as the rain poured down onto the exhausted players, it was Turkey celebrating at full-time after a breathtaking match came to an end.
CNN’s Inke Kappeler in Berlin contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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