The ball bent over the wall, dipped and smacked the underside of the crossbar on its way in. Spain’s Marca summed it up in three words: “Güler, a lo Messi.”
The Real Madrid midfielder stood over the dead ball some 30 metres out in the 20th minute, 21 years old, and struck it left-footed into the top corner at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium. Yahoo’s match report noted the ball caught the underside of the crossbar on its way down, and Get Spanish Football News described the strike as curled into the top corner from roughly 30 metres.
For seven minutes it stood as the game’s only goal. Turkey were holding the group’s second seeds.
Belgium’s comeback in three minutes
The reply came through the two Belgians Turkey could least afford to leave in space. Kevin De Bruyne finished off a Jérémy Doku pass in the 27th minute, and Charles De Ketelaere scored three minutes later from a Maxim De Cuyper cross to put Belgium ahead.
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Belgium saw out the second half without conceding, and the away win moved them above Italy into second place in Group 1.
‘Messi against Liverpool’
The Spanish press reached for the same reference point. Marca’s social-media post compared the strike to Lionel Messi’s 2018-19 Champions League free kick against Liverpool, a comparison Turkish daily Sabah picked up the following morning. Mundo Deportivo, El Imparcial and Cadena SER framed the goal in similar terms, placing Güler’s technique alongside Messi’s Anfield strike.
Group 1 after matchday five
Group 1 after the fifth matchday:
- France, 10 points
- Belgium, 9
- Italy, 7
- Turkey, 0
Belgium’s next assignment is Italy on the final matchday, with the quarter-final spot still on the table. Turkey, already out of the running for the knockout stage, close their League A campaign away to France.
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