Kökcü starts in Turkey's victory

Benfica midfielder Kökcü was a starter in Turkey's 3-1 win over Georgia on Tuesday, June 18, on matchday 1 of Group F at the 2024 European Championship in Germany.

The Eagles player played 90 minutes in a match where goals from Müldür (25'), Arda Güler (65') and Aktürkoglu (90'+7') earned the three points against the European debutants, who scored through Mikautadze in the 32nd minute. Turkey even celebrated another goal, from Kenan Yildiz with an assist from Kökcü, in the 27th minute, but it was disallowed due to the Juventus striker being in offside position.

According to data collected on the Sofascore platform, the Benfica midfielder took 65 touches of the ball, had a passing efficiency of 80% (41 correct passes in 51 attempts) and took four shots: one was on goal, two were off target and another was blocked.

Also on Tuesday, June 18, Benfica's António Silva and João Neves weren't used in Portugal's 2-1 win over Czechia, where David Jurásek, a player on loan at Hoffenheim in 2023/24, didn't get off the bench either. Provod put the Czechs ahead in the 62nd minute, but the national team came back with goals from Hranac (in his own net) and Francisco Conceição, in the 69th and 90th minutes.

Portugal and Turkey will now meet on Matchday 2 of Group F of the European Championship: the game is scheduled for next Saturday, June 22, in Dortmund. On Matchday 3, Turkey will face Czechia in Hamburg on Wednesday, June 26, while Portugal will face Georgia in Gelsenkirchen on the same day and at the same time.