Joyous occasion as the teams ran back and forth like lunatics, responding in kind to an extraordinary atmosphere
There are some games when everything just comes together. Thunder and lightning over the most famous stadium in Germany, two sets of fans for whom the match seemed to mean everything, and two teams who responded to the extraordinary atmosphere by producing an extraordinary match.
Two sensational strikes from Kaan Ayhan and Arda Güler won the match for Turkey but the heroic way Georgia performed in their first ever appearance in an international tournament will give them the thirst for more. Willy Sagnol’s team were outgunned but they were never outfought.
A continuous roar accompanied Turkish possession, which during the brief Georgian interludes became a continuous whistling jeer. You almost felt sorry for the poor Georgian right-wing-back Otar Kakabadze when he got his first touch after just a couple of minutes. As he tried to control the ball he was hit with a barrage of whistles that could crack concrete. He bumbled it out of play to a roar of derision.
Two minutes later Turkey had the ball in the net again, but Kenan Yildiz was ruled offside after tapping in at the end of a sweeping move. It looked like Georgia were sinking. Instead, four minutes later, they were level. There was a dramatic half-instant of what seemed like total silence before everyone simultaneously realised the low shot had beaten Mert Günok and squeezed inside the near post, before the Georgian fans behind that goal exploded.
Georgia hit the post late but, exhausted by the effort they had already put in, were unable to force a goal. In the 97th minute, Georgia’s keeper Mamardishvili advanced into the Turkish box corner, but his opposite number Günok punched the ball clear.
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