Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol believes his players will learn from their defeat to Turkiye, but was proud of his side's performance in Dortmund.

The 75th-ranked side in the world captured the hearts of many neutrals in their first game at Euro 2024, coming agonisingly close to snatching a memorable point late on.

Georges Mikautadze made history by scoring Georgia's first-ever goal at a major tournament following Mert Muldur's opener, but the minnows were undone by a piece of individual brilliance by Arda Guler before Kerem Akturkoglu sealed a 3-1 win late on. 

"I don't want to say we are happy losers today but I think we can be proud of our performance," Sagnol told reporters.

"We have given such a nice image of the Georgian footballer but of course, we had a lot of opportunities to score, probably as much as Turkey did. But that's football.

"I'm sure in the future, in the next months and years, Georgia won't lose this kind of game. We are in a learning process, but we want to learn in a good way."

For Turkiye, however, they won their opening game of a European Championship finals for the first time, having lost each of their previous five. 

And a big contributor to that was Real Madrid's Guler, whose stunning strike showcased his mercurial talent, and was something he revealed he had practised in the lead-up to the game.

"I am just thrilled, no words to describe how I feel. I was dreaming of this goal constantly," Guler said.

"I've been practising this particular shot recently at the end of training sessions. I'm so happy to have scored this way."

Turkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella celebrated the triumph on his 50th birthday, and Guler was able to deliver the boss his only wish.

"My coach had wanted a goal as a birthday present," Guler told reporters. "I hope I can continue these goals."

Montella was equally pleased with the way his birthday had panned out, labelling the result as the perfect day as preparations turn to their game against Portugal on Saturday, who beat Czechia late on in the other Group F contest. 

"We are just thrilled," Montella said. "It was a lot of coincidences coming together today, my 50th birthday, Eid at home, the Euro opener."

He told reporters: "It really was the perfect day, in terms of the spirit and in terms of the best present I could get."

Arda Guler scored a sensational goal as Turkiye came out 3-1 victors after a thrilling clash with Georgia at Euro 2024.

The Real Madrid midfielder curled home a stunner from outside the area to put Turkiye 2-1 midway through the second half and become the youngest player to score on his Euros debut, with Kerem Akturkoglu confirming the win after a wave of Georgia pressure. 

Ahead of the encounter in Dortmund, fans from both nations were involved in scenes of violence inside the stadium as torrential weather conditions threatened to postpone Georgia's maiden bow at an international tournament. 

Turkiye led in the 25th minute, as Mert Muldur, who had scored just once before for his nation, fired home a goal of the tournament contender with a sweet volley into the top corner. 

The Turkish supporters packed into Westfalenstadion were in raptures when they thought their side had doubled their advantage two minutes later, only for Kenan Yildiz's effort to be disallowed for offside by VAR. 

And a moment of history arrived for Georgia when Georges Mikautadze neatly flicked a finish beyond Mert Gunok at the near post.

Yet Turkiye's lead was restored when Guler picked out the top-left corner, breaking a record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004 in the process.

Georgia went agonisingly close to an equaliser - Giorgi Kochorashvili hitting the crossbar and drilling off target from close range while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck the post and Samet Akaydin made a goal-line block.

But with Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili up for a corner deep in injury time, Turkiye broke and Akturkoglu placed the ball into the empty net to settle a thrilling Group F clash.

Data Debrief: Guler steals the show as Turkiye and Georgia light up Euro 2024

In a match that featured 36 shots and a combined 4.3 xG, Guler's sublime effort saw him become the youngest Turkish player to score a goal in the history of major tournaments at just 19 years 114 days.

Turkiye became just the second team ever to start a match at the Euros with two teenagers (Guler and Kenan Yildiz), after Hungary did so in 1964. 

Mikautadze scored Georgia's first ever goal at a major tournament, meanwhile. He has now netted six goals in his last six starts for his country.