Euro 2024 Group F
GROUP F
Group F venues are Dortmund, Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen and Leipzig.
Euro 2004 finalists and 2016 winners Portugal are the stand-out team, with Türkiye (Turkey), Czechia (Czech Republic) and newcomers Georgia the expected whipping boys.
Türkiye Georgia Portugal Czechia
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[Team Jersey Images © Soccerphile]
Türkiye
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Turkey Kit 1 |
Turkey Kit 2 |
Turkey Kit 3 |
Türkiye v Georgia, 18th June, BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund
Türkiye v Portugal, 22nd June, BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund
Türkiye v Czechia, 26th June, Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Coach
Vincenzo Montella, nicknamed "Aeroplanino" during his playing days at Sampdoria and Roma, will hope to get the Turks flying high at 2024. He has coached Roma, Catania, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan and Sevilla before moving to Turkey to become manager of Adana Demirspor. He has coached the national side since September 2023.
Record
1996, 2016, 2020 First Round, 2000 Quarter-Final, 2008 Semi-Final, 1980, 1988, 1992, 2000 First Round
FIFA Ranking (40th) in the world
Men to watch
Hakan Calhanoglu - The Inter midfielder captains the side and has had a standout season in Serie A.
Arda Gula - The Real Madrid wunderkind is known as the "Turkish Messi" and plays as a central attacking midfielder and winger.
Orkun Koksu - the midfielder now plays his football for Benfica in Portugal after a move from Feyenoord in Holland.
Should reach the Round of 16 but progress thereafter is debatable.
How they qualified
Group D winners.
On the sidelines
Former Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu and Bournemouth striker Enes Unal miss out due to injury.
Formation
3-5-2
Analysis
With a population of 85 million, and a football-mad culture, Turkey should be a European powerhouse.
However, they often underperform on the big stage due to the weight of expectation on the players' shoulders.
A 2-3 win in a friendly against Germany in November, 2023 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin was followed later by a 6-1 thumping versus Austria at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
Inconsistancy is the problem and it's possible to see the team beat Portugal but lose to Georgia.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Ugurcan Cakir (Trabzonspor), Altay Bayindir (Manchester United), Mert Gunok (Besiktas)
Defenders: Zeki Celik (Roma), Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahce), Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Samet Akaydin (Panathinaikos), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax), Merih Demiral (Al Ahli), Mert Muldur (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), Orkun Kokcu (Benfica), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund), Ismail Yuksek (Fenerbahce), Arda Guler (Real Madrid), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuslu (West Brom).
Strikers: Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Yunus Akgun (Leicester), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Bertug Yildirim (Rennes), Semih Kilicsoy (Besiktas), Yusuf Yazıcı (Lille), Irfan Kahveci (Fenerbahce), Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray).
Georgia
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Georgia Kit 1 |
Georgia Kit 2 |
Georgia Kit 3 |
Georgia v Turkey, 18th June, Dortmund
Georgia v Czech Republic, 22nd June, Hamburg
Georgia v Portugal, 26th June, Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen
Coach
Willy Sagnol - 47-year-old Sagnol spent the majority of his successful career as a defender for Bayern Munich in Germany so should find himself very much at home during Euro 2024. He was even assistant coach under Carlo Ancelotti at the club so has learned his trade with the very best. He was a member of the French national team squad at the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup when France reached the final and Euro 2008. Has 16 wins and five draws from his 33 games in charge so far.
Record
First time to qualify.
FIFA Ranking (75th) in the world
Men to watch
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - The 23-year-old winger for Napoli is the national team's best player by some distance. He has notched 23 goals in just 68 games for the Serie A club so far and 4 goals and 1 assist in qualifying. A bright future beckons.
Avoiding defeat in any of their 3 group matches would be considered a success on their first appearance.
How they qualified
Georgia qualified for Euro 2024 after a 4-2 shootout win over Greece after the tense playoff final ended 0-0 in Tbilisi.
On the sidelines
Dinamo Tbilisi, founded in 1925, is the country's most famous club side. They play at the 54,000 capacity Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena.
Formation
4-3-3
Analysis
In qualifying Georgia had a goal difference of -6 and finished fourth (out of 5 teams) behind Spain, Scotland and Norway, but qualified for the play-offs via their results in the Nations League. This form does not bode well for a squad with only Kvaratskhelia playing his football at a top club.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag).
Defenders: Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava), Otar Kakabadze (Cracovia), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al-Okhdood), Lasha Dvali (APOEL), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis).
Midfielders: - Gabriel Sigua (Basel), Nika Kvekverskiri (Lech Poznan), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Saba Lobzhanidze (Atlanta United), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Levan Shengelia (Panetlikos), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante), Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger AC).
Strikers: Giorgi Kvilitaia (APOEL), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruher SC), Georges Mikautadze (Metz).
Portugal
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Portugal Kit 1 |
Portugal Kit 2 |
Portugal Kit 3 |
Portugal v Czechia, 18th June, Leipzig
Portugal v Turkey, 22nd June, Dortmund
Portugal v Georgia, 26th June, Gelsenkirchen
Coach
Roberto Martínez. The former Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Everton and Belgium coach now finds himself at the helm of Portugal.
Record
1996, 2008 Quarter-final, 1984, 2000, 2012 Semi-final, 2004 Runners-up, 2016 Winners, Round of 16, 2020
FIFA Ranking (6th) in the world
Men to watch
Bruno Fernandes - has had a solid season at Manchester United leading the team to FA Cup success in an otherwise disappointing season. Widely considered Portugal's best player.
Cristiano Ronaldo - still going strong at age 39 but now plays his football for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Team captain and talisman, Ronaldo scored 10 goals in qualifying behind only Romelu Lukaku with 14. He is the the all-time top scorer in men's international football with 128 goals and counting.
Francisco Conceição - the 21-year-old is an exciting young talent at FC Porto but unlikely to get much playing time. One to watch for the future.
Should win the group at a canter and are potential winners, 4th favorites behind England, France and Germany.
How they qualified
Won Group J winning all 10 matches scoring 36 goals and conceding just two.
On the sidelines
Defender Pepe has made over 130 appearances for Portugal behind CR7 who has over 200! Englishman Anthony Barry is an assistant coach.
Formation
4-2-2-2
Analysis
The talent factory that is football-mad Portugal continues to churn out talent and the team is packed with star players from Europe's major leagues in almost every position.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (Roma), Jose Sa (Wolves), Diogo Costa (Porto).
Defenders: Nelson Semedo (Wolves), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Pepe (Porto), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (PSG).
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), uben Neves (Al Hilal), Vitinha (PSG), Joao Neves (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
Strikers: - Goncalo Ramos (PSG), Joao Felix (Barcelona), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Francisco Conceicao (Porto), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Pedro Neto (Wolves).
Czechia
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Czechia Kit 1 |
Czechia Kit 2 |
Czechia Kit 3 |
Czechia v Portugal, 18th June, Leipzig
Czechia v Georgia, 22nd June, Hamburg
Czechia v Turkey, 26th June, Hamburg
Coach
Ivan Hašek, an ex-Sparta Prague midfielder, has spent much of his managerial career in the Middle East.
Record
2000, 2008, 2016 First Round, 2012, 2020 Quarter Final, 2004 Semi Final, 1996 Finalists
FIFA Ranking (36th) in the world
Men to watch
Patrik Schick - comes off a successful season with Bayer Leverkusen with 13 goals in all competitions and will be the team's main goal threat.
Vying with Turkey to escape the group with Portugal.
How they qualified
The Czechs were Group E runners-up behind surprise package Albania winning four of their 8 games, with 3 draws and 1 loss.
On the sidelines
Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Čech (now retired) still holds the caps record with 124 appearances.
Formation
4-3-3
Analysis
With several of the squad including Adam Hlozek and Patrik Schick of champions Bayer Leverkusen playing their football in the Bundesliga, the team should feel at home in neighboring Germany. Captain Tomáš Souček weighed in with 10 goals for West Ham United in the 2023-2024 season and is the driving force in midfield. Their final group game with Turkey on 26th June in Hamburg could be a straight shoot out for who goes through with expected group winners Portugal.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Jindrich Stanek (Slavia Prague), Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz), Matej Kovar (Bayer Leverkusen).
Defenders: Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United), Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague), Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), David Jurasek (Hoffenheim), Robin Hranac (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Vlcek (Slavia Prague), Martin Vitík (Sparta Prague).
Midfielders: Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Antonin Barak (Fiorentina), David Doudera (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadilek (Twente), Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague), Vaclav Cerny (VfL Wolfsburg), Ondrej Lingr (Feyenoord), Marej Jurasek (Slavia Prague), Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen), Lukas Cerv (Viktoria Plzen).
Strikers: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague), Mojmir Chytil (Slavia Prague), Tomas Chory (Viktoria Plzen).
Compiled by Soccerphile
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