Let’s be real here: we didn’t really know what to expect from Turkey v Georgia. Hell, neither Turkey nor Georgia knew what to expect from Turkey v Georgia. The formers were infamously the hipster’s choice at the last Euros before delivering a total of zilch points and a goal difference of minus seven; the latter headed to Dortmund for their major tournament debut. Cue an under-the-table deal between the two sides to, regardless of the result, deliver a rip-roaring occasion under torrential rain that made the Westfalenstadion roof do a terrific impression of Old Trafford.

Turkey employed a bangers-only policy when it came to their goals, with Mert Muldur pulverising a volley into the net before Arda Guler, part of Real Madrid’s never-ending supply of imported wunderkinds, upstaged him with a curler from range after Georges Mikautadze’s historic equaliser. The best was saved for last: nothing beats slotting into an empty net on the break after the opposition keeper’s gone up for a corner. Kerem Akturkoglu was the lucky man as the camera shook under the noise generated by the Turkish fans, their horrible memories from three years ago expunged by this redemptive moment.

Guler, 19, has already been tagged as the “Turkish Messi”, while Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, renowned as the “Georgian Messi”, was in the opposition lineup. Cristiano, the ‘Portuguese Ronaldo’, was at it a little later, still in action for his country at 76, alongside his pal Pepe, 82, against the Czech Republic. Ronaldo’s presence remains both remarkable and awkward, the Euro 2004 alumnus refusing to even entertain the thought of walking through the door marked Do One. Youth was what ended up saving the Portuguese, with Francisco Conceição – born a few months after Ronaldo’s senior debut for Sporting – scoring the late winner to match his old man, Sérgio, who netted a hat-trick against Germany in the group stages of Euro 2000.

Scotland are back at it later on Wednesday after being awfully polite guests in the opener, and manager Steve Clarke was terrifically blunt about that display. “We thought we were well prepared for Germany and obviously we weren’t,” he proclaimed before their crucial encounter with Switzerland. If honesty is the way to go from here, perhaps the best tune to play in the dressing room ahead of kick-off is the rousing song released by Del Amitri for their 1998 World Cup campaign. Don’t Come Home Too Soon made it to No 15 in the charts and while, yes, they finished bottom of the group, the message still stands.

Join Taha Hashim at 2pm BST for red-hot updates on Croatia 2-2 Albania, while Barry Glendenning will be on hand for Germany 3-1 Hungary at 5pm and Scott Murray will be here at 8pm for Scotland 0-2 Switzerland.

We have won three medals, England won one [more than] 50 years ago but they are a great team, we are not, we are always the dark horse. We are little but we are brave, we will fight and we have the evidence of thousands of [fans] in Berlin. We are a nation that is entitled to feel proud and our results show that we are better than our perception” – Zlatko Dalic uses England as a punchbag while defending his Croatia team against criticism after the humbling by Spain.

Before things get too hyped about Jude Bellingham – can I put a most belated word in for Duncan Edwards? At the same age he was pinging left- and right-footed rockets to Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews on the English wings or the back of his opponent’s net. There is sadly not too much moving image of his exploits, and increasingly few alive now to tell the awesome tale. His greatest advocate Bobby Charlton among those. On top of their physical and artistic qualities, Jude and Dunc are both Black Country babes ainnit!” – Nick Grant.

Re: Brighton talking to Crysencio Summerville from Leeds, hoping he will make them feel mighty real (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Are Leeds also asking that he doesn’t leave them this way?” – Neale Redington.

Thank you for your annual spoiler that everyone plays everyone else twice (yesterday’s Beyond the Euros, full email edition). If Tom Werner and co get their way, this moderately funny warning will become both redundant and a sick joke” – Karim Fatih.

Send letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Neale Redington, who wins a copy of Euro 84: The Greatest Tournament You Never Saw, by Pitch Publishing. Visit their bookshop here. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.

Big Website is offering Euro 2024 Daily readers a special discounted rate for our all-access digital subscription which, we’re told by the higher-ups, is the top level of support and gives you unlimited access to the app and ad-free reading. Get in! So click here to get 50% off the usual price for the first three months [and to see thefull terms and conditions]. What are you waiting for? Become a Big Website ultra now!

90 min: Portugal 1-1 Czech Republic
Nelson Semedo, Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceição are stripped and ready to come on for Portugal. Danny Murphy on BBC co-comms: “Why do managers make substitutions with a few minutes left? What can you do in three minutes?”

90+2 min: Portugal 2-1 Czech Republic (Conceição scores, Neto assist)
Murphy: “That’s why [Roberto] Martínez is a manager [and not me].”

An England fan from Bolton has been bailed by a court following trouble in Gelsenkirchen. Gordon Thomas, 39, made the brief appearance at Manchester magistrates for a hearing where police applied for a banning order, stopping him from attending matches for the next three years.

Croatia’s nifty attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic has been ruled out of the tournament with unspecified muscle-knack. “I’m extremely sorry that this new [knack] will prevent me from helping the team,” he sniffed. Serbia’s Filip Kostic is also flying home after suffering knee ligament-gah against England.

Thirsty Scotland fans have been warned not to relieve themselves on the streets of Cologne before the Switzerland game. “We’d ask supporters to be considerate of the residents on the route [to the stadium] and make use of [temporary toilets] please,” read a message from the Association of Tartan Army Clubs.

England players are being given pickle juice to combat cramp in Euros matches, though it probably won’t stop them from hoiking passes out of play when they’re knackered, mind.

And with the temperature belatedly rising in the West Midlands, perhaps it isn’t the best time for staff at Cadbury’s World in Birmingham to make a 26kg chocolate tribute to local lad done good Jude Bellingham.

First it was Albanian fans taunting their Italian rivals by snapping uncooked spaghetti in front of them. Then the Austrians followed suit, breaking baguettes in the faces of bemused France fans before their match. Oh the b@ntz! Fans are entertaining themselves with “food wars” which, if we put unnecessary food waste to one side, is a damn sight better than lobbing plastic chairs and bottles at rival supporters. As well as the desecration of national foods on the streets, food banners are springing up in stadiums. “Fondue better than goulash,” read one at Switzerland v Hungary. “Eat Pasta, Run Fasta,” claimed an Italian poster at the Albanian game. And “Kielbasa better than gouda,” boasted Polish fans against the Netherlands. We’re still waiting for “Tomato Soup, Win the Group.”

As of Monday morning, with seven games completed in Euro 2024, no game had had more goals than any of the earlier games. Is this the longest such run at the start of a major tournament? The Knowledge knows.

Ollie Watkins is ready to be more than just Harry Kane’s England understudy, reports Jacob Steinberg.

Kobbie Mainoo is staying cool as the clamour for a spot in England’s midfield grows, writes David Hytner.

Nicky Bandini reports on how Nicolò Barella and Italy are dealing with the pain of missing the World Cup to drive them on at the Euros.

And further afield, it’s also about to be Copa América time. Our cousins across the pond have delivered their tournament predictions.

Tom Garry is Euro 2024 Football Daily’s new colleague and he’s filed this on the importance of covering the women’s game. Do read.

Joey Barton has issued a public apology and agreed to pay £75,000 to Jeremy Vine after a court ruled that calling the broadcaster a “bike nonce” was defamatory. “I’m done with social media,” said Barton, who has now been ordered to cough up another £35,000 in damages, according to Vine’s solicitors.

The number of women experiencing discrimination in football is continuing to rise, according to new data. The latest survey conducted by the group Women in Football found that 89% of women working in the game have experienced discrimination in the workplace, up from 82% in 2023 and 66% four years ago.

Fifa’s social media tools designed to protect players from online abuse will now be available to all 211 member associations and their teams. “We have already seen how effective the service has been in Fifa tournaments and it is only logical that we make it available to all,” Gianni Infantino said.

Graham Potter Steve Cooper is set to get the Leicester job.

Former Chelsea and England defender Ryan Bertrand is calling it a day after being unable to find a club. “It’s been a little while … so just to make that official I am retiring,” he roared on Sky Sports, who honoured the 34-year-old with a big breaking news yellow ticker o’doom.

And good news for fans of club v country rows: teams will be able to refuse the release of players to Afcon under Fifa’s rules if it concludes in January 2026.

We’ve got a host of classic Euros photos from yesteryear available to snap up in our print shop. Have a peruse right here.

17 June 1972: It’s Euro 72 and Belgium’s Raoul Lambert is foiled by Hungary’s Istvan Geczi in what looks like a sparsely-populated Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège for the third-place playoff. Other points to note are the industrial backdrop and the lesser-spotted yellow summer ball. Belgium won 2-1.