19-year-old midfielder Arda Guler became the third teenager to both score and assist at a Euros, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Guler scored a masterpiece with a cut from the right wing into the middle and a left-footed shot into the far corner in the 3-1 win over Georgia in the opening match of Group F. Thanks to that, he surpassed Ronaldo to become the youngest player to score on his debut at the Euro.

In the round of 16 against Austria yesterday, Guler continued to leave his mark with a corner kick that allowed defender Merih Demiral to head the ball into the net, raising the score to 2-0. Thanks to that, Guler became the third teenager to both score and assist in a Euro, repeating the achievement of Ronaldo and Rooney in 2004.

At Euro 2004, Ronaldo – then 19 years old – scored two goals and assisted two in Portugal’s journey to the final. Specifically, he scored in the opening match against Greece, contributed an assist in the match against Russia, then shone with a goal and an assist in the 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Rooney had four goals and one assist at Euro 2004. The former England striker scored twice against Switzerland, contributed two goals and one assist in the group stage win over Croatia, then lost to Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter-finals.

With four goals, Rooney also ranked second in the Euro 2004 Golden Boot list, equal to Ruud van Nistelrooy of the Netherlands, and only five goals behind Milan Baros – former Czech Republic striker.

Arda Guler is tackled during Türkiye’s 2-1 win over Austria in the Euro 2024 round of 16 at Red Bull Arenal, Leipzig on July 2. Photo: AFP

In yesterday’s round of 16, coach Vincenzo Montella caused a surprise when he switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-3. Guler played as a false 9, with two wingers Kenan Yildiz and Baris Alper Yilmaz, in the context of captain Hakan Calhanoglu being suspended.

Turkey made the most of their set-piece opportunities, with Merih Demiral scoring twice from Guler’s two corners to become the first defender to score twice in a major knockout game since Lilian Thuram at the 1998 World Cup. Austria pressed hard for the remainder of the game, but only Michael Gregoritsch managed to pull one back.

The 2-1 victory helped Türkiye reach the Euro quarter-finals for the third time, after 2000 and 2008. Vincenzo Montella’s team is also the biggest surprise of the tournament, as the only team outside the FIFA Top 20 to reach the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.