2026 World Cup qualifiers: Türkiye beats Georgia 3-2

The Turkish National Football Team defeated Georgia 3-2 away in the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifications Group E.

In the third minute of the match played at Boris Paichadze Stadium, the national team took a 1-0 lead with Mert Müldür's header after Arda Güler's corner from the left.

Türkiye scored their second goal in the 41st minute. Kerem Aktürkoğlu doubled the lead after finding the ball in the box following a free kick.

The first half ended with the National Team leading 2-0.

Türkiye and Georgia each started the second half with one substitution: Orkun came on for Ismail in Türkiye, and Gagnidze came on for Tsitaishvili in Georgia.

In the 52nd minute, Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored his second and his team's third goal, with an assist from Yunus Akgün.

In the 63rd minute, the home team halved the gap with a goal from Davitashvili.

In the 66th minute, Yunus Akgün and Kerem Aktürkoğlu came off the bench for Türkiye, while Oğuz and Barış Alper came on as substitutes.

Five minutes later, Barış Alper Yılmaz made a heavy tackle on the ankle of an opposing player. Referee Davide Massa, advised to monitor the situation, sent Yılmaz off with a red card.

For the rest of the match, Georgia played a dominant game against the national team, which was down to 10 men.

Kvaratskhelia brought the score to 3-2 in the 90+8th minute of the match, which included nine minutes of added time to normal time.

No further goals were scored in the remaining period, and Türkiye left the field with a 3-2 victory and started the group stage with three points.

Türkiye will face Spain in the second leg, which will be played in Konya on September 7.

The Turkish National Football Team will compete in Group E with Spain, Bulgaria and Georgia in the 2026 World Cup European Continental qualifiers.

If Türkiye wins this group, they will qualify for the World Cup. If they finish second, the national team faces a longer process.

The 12 teams that finished second in their qualifying groups and the four group winners from the top 2024-25 UEFA Nations League overall standings will compete for a total of 16 teams in the World Cup.

These 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four. Four teams from these groups will play in the semifinals and the final. These matches will be single-leg matches, with no second legs.

The four winners of the four-team matches will receive a ticket to the World Cup.