DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) -The following is reaction to Turkey’s 3-1 victory over debutants Georgia in Euro 2024 Group F on Monday, with goals from Mert Muldur, teenager Arder Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu.
Turkey midfielder and man of the match Arda Guler: “I am just thrilled, no words to describe how I feel. I was dreaming of this goal constantly. I am working extra hard to give back to the amazing love I’ve been receiving.
“I’ve been practising this particular shot recently at the end of training sessions. I am so happy to have scored this way. (Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti) messaged me earlier today and wished me luck.”
Turkey forward Kerem Akturkoglu: “We dreamed of starting with a win. We knew we were coming to a great atmosphere, playing like we’re at home.
“This is a great start but we’re just beginning. We had never started with a win at the Euros. This is historic for us. We need to stay grounded if we want this victory to mean something. It will only mean something if we can continue this way.
“I thought (Guler) would score that one as soon as Arda touched that ball. Mashallah, mashallah,”
Georgia coach Willy Sagnol: “The feelings are a bit mixed. We had many chances to score. I don’t want to say deserved or not deserved because this is the story of football. We hoped for a better start but I am proud of my players.
“Arda Guler is a great talent, he will get more experience and score many more.
“We are learning fast and becoming better as a team.”
Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu: “We gave up possession for some time after 1-1 and that wasn’t any good for us because we had to run more and it was exhausting.
“We are really happy. I think what matters really is that today we really wanted that win. We all really put out our best.
“We want to revive the Euro 2008 spirit. I am sure everyone saw that we really worked hard, tried hard today. We had several mistakes that we need to learn from. We need to stay calm. We will analyse and look back at our mistakes.
“We played at home today, we are grateful to our fans who made this stadium all red and white.”
(Reporting by Lori Ewing)
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