Euro 2024 continues today with Turkey vs Georgia in Group F and fans were seen clashing in Dortmund during torrential rainfall in the area.
Supporters were forced to race for cover but the roof of the Westfalenstadion, home of Borussia Dortmund, was breached by the sheer volume of rain, soaking many fans after several heavy downpours inside the ground.
Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey come into the tournament in terrible form, having not won any of their last five outings. But they have a talented squad with players such as Real Madrid’s Arda Guler and Benfica’s Orkun Kokcu looking to put their stamp on this tournament and ensure a better performance than their bottom-placed finish at Euro 2020.
In contrast, Georgia are taking part in their first-ever international tournament after they beat Greece on penalties in the qualification play-offs. Since then they have played a confidence-building 3-1 win over Montenegro and, led by Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, will hope to cause an upset this evening.
Follow the team news, score and latest updates in our live blog below.
How to watch Turkey vs Georgia LIVE
Half an hour until kick-off now, so here’s a reminder of how you can watch tonight’s first game.
The fixture will kick off at 5pm BST on Tuesday 18 June at the BVB Stadion Dortmund.
Turkey vs Georgia will be shown live on BBC 1 and iPlayer, with coverage starting at 4.30pm. You can find a full list of which channel is showing each match here.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 16:35
Turkey and Georgia fans fight in stands in violent scenes before Euro 2024 match
Fans of Georgia and Turkey brawled inside the BVB Stadion Dortmund an hour before kick-off in the two countries’ opening Euro 2024 match.
Video footage circulated on social media showed groups of opposing supporters clash in one corner of the stadium, with punches thrown and missiles launched before police intervened to quell the violent scenes.
The fighting came amid torrential rain in Dortmund on Tuesday which caused the stadium’s roof to leak waterfalls of rain on to fans below.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 16:26
Euro 2024: Turkey vs Georgia
Two Scottish fans, a man and his 75-year-old father, have had an umbrella confiscated outside BVB Stadion because the tip was too long – and deemed dangerous.
The weather here is torrential and, potentially, dangerous itself. Farcical. #EURO2024 #TURGEO
— Alex Pattle (@alex_pattle) June 18, 2024
Jack Rathborn18 June 2024 16:26
Euro 2024 stadium roof leaks as downpour soaks Dortmund before Turkey v Georgia
Severe weather warnings are in place across the host nation, while the level of precipitation was too much for the BVB Stadium to handle.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 16:22
Storms and clashes among fans ahead of kick-off
The build-up to the match has been slightly barred by some clashes between the two sets of fans at the Westfalenstadion.
Earlier on, unusually high rainfall had caused leaks from the stadium roof.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 16:18
Match stats and head-to-head
This is Georgia’s first major international tournament, so of course two sides have never met in international competition, though they have faced off in three friendlies and two World Cup qualifiers between 2002 and 2012.
The first meeting came in August 2002, when Turkey won 3-0 in a friendly, before World Cup qualifiers in September 2004 (which ended 1-1) and March 2005, in which Turkey ran out 5-2 winners.
Georgia’s only win against Turkey came in February 2007, when they won 1-0 in another friendly.
The two sides have not met since 2012, when Turkey ran out 3-1 winners thanks in part to goals from ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop and recently appointed Borussia Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 16:15
Line-ups
TURKEY XI: Gunok; Muldur, Bardakci, Akaydin, Kadioglu; Ayhan, Calhanoglu; Guler, Kokcu; Yildiz; Yilmaz.
GEORGIA XI: Mamardashvili; Kverkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Chakvetadze, Kochorashvili, Mekbavishvili, Tsitaishvili; Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze.
Chris Wilson18 June 2024 15:57