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Turkey-Georgia could be a tough match – here are our picks
The Turks, who have been on parade in the qualifiers, and the EURO newbies Georgia will open the day.
Tuesday’s game starts with a historic match as Georgia prepares for the first major tournament in its history. The former Soviet state was never far away from the continental tournament in 2020, when Northern Macedonia beat the independent country less than 30 years ago in Tbilisi, but now it has achieved a feat. Willy Sagnoles’ first opponents will be Turkey, who have given the impression of being a two-faced team. See the best tips from the bookmakers!
Perhaps they won’t be too angry with us in Tbilisi if we say that Georgia would not have been anywhere near the European Championship without the new format and the possibility of a qualifying round. Even weak Norway beat Sagnoles by 3 points in the group and qualified for the play-offs, where they were eliminated on penalties against Greece.
While there is nothing to illegitimize Georgia’s qualification, it should be noted that the most serious opponents they have beaten in a competitive match since 2021 are Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia.
The national team is clearly built around Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but also includes players from the likes of Basel, Sturm Graz, Cremonese, Shakhtar Donetsk and Valencia. However, it is perhaps safe to say that the French coach has the weakest squad of the tournament.
But Kvara’s importance is illustrated by the fact that, at 23, he is already the third highest goalscorer in the country’s history, just 11 behind Shota Arveladze.
“After winning our independence, it’s a miracle that our fathers and grandfathers dreamed of. It’s a much bigger achievement for us than anyone would believe and we believe we will be able to surprise people. Remember, we have one of the best players in the world in Kvaratshkelia. What De Bruyne is to the Belgians or Bruno Fernandes to the Portuguese, Kvara is to us,” former international Bachana Arabuli told ESPN.
Although Georgia sounded the tone with a 3-1 win over Montenegro, Turkey is a different kettle of fish, even if Vincenzo Montella’s preparations have been a bit of a curiosity.
After overtaking Croatia and Wales, the half-moon side fell a little further behind than they should have done, losing to Hungary, Austria and Poland, while they drew 0-0 in Italy. The Italian coach need not worry, of course, but the fact remains that against Georgia, they can expect no more than 3 points, as neither Portugal nor the Czech Republic will be handing over the points they lost here on a golden tray.
Of course, the Turks are not lacking in quality either, just think of the Calhanoglu-Güler-Tosun trio that could start on Tuesday.
Argentinian referee for the meeting
After the 2020 European Championships, another South American, and again an Argentinean, has been invited to the European tournament, this time Facundo Tello. Three years ago, Rappallini only showed five yellow cards in two games in the group stage, so don’t necessarily think it will be a huge card just because Tello, for example, has given out 19 cards in his last three games at home. He is probably a more restrained sportier than his compatriot anyway.
However, the 4.5 limit on the cards is not a coincidence, it could be a tough game in Dortmund, especially if the Georgians can make the 90 minutes tight, so we do not recommend this market.
These are our tips for Turkey-Georgia
Over doubles we take 0 goals to the underdog, we can see a scenario in front of us that Turkey won’t really cause much trouble from Kvará.
Our second idea is for Turkish corners. We are expecting a dominant, goal-oriented game from Calhanoglu, and with 6 corners we could win quite a bit of money. If our hunch comes true and we get a result around 2-0, it shouldn’t be a problem.
