Portugal, Turkey win in Euro Cup

KATHMANDU: Cristiano Ronaldo marked his appearance in the sixth European Championship as Portugal defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in Leipzig on early Wednesday morning.

Although Portugal were the better side in the first half, it was the Czech Republic who took the lead in the second half as Lukas Provod’s powerful strike flew past the Portuguese keeper into the net in the 62nd minute of the match.

Portugal equalized via a Robin Hranac own goal in the 69th minute of the game.

Diogo Jota had a goal ruled out for offside late in the second half, but Conceicao scored in injury time to ensure that the tournament favorites got all three points from the match.

Turkey sinks Georgia 3-1
Teenager Arda Guler scored a wonder goal as Turkey beat Georgia 3-1 in the Group F encounter in Dortmund on Tuesday evening.

Mert Muldur gave Turkey the lead in the 25th minute of the game when he unleashed a powerful volley into the top corner of the net.

Georgia, playing in the Euro Cup for the first time, came back into the game when Georges Mikautadze guided Giorgi Kochorashvili’s cross into the near corner of the Turkish net.

Guler restored Turkey’s lead in the 65th minute when he became the third teenager to score in the 2024 Euro Cup. His curled strike from 25 yards flew into the top corner.

Substitute Kerem Akturkoglu extended Turkey’s lead in the 7th minute of second-half injury time. With the Georgian goalkeeper in the Turkish half for a corner, the Turkish forward carried the ball from his half and calmly rolled the ball into an empty net.