Turkey v Portugal: New kid on the block Arda Guler takes on evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo

Given all he has achieved in the game, it's impossible for the focus not to be on Cristiano Ronaldo whenever an international tournament rolls around.

The Portugal striker has already added another entry into the history ledger by becoming the first player to appear in six European Championships after starting in the 2-1 win over Czech Republic in their Group F opener on Tuesday.

Ronaldo was denied the chance to extend his record 14 goals at the Euros by some fine goalkeeping from Jindrich Stanek, but the 39 year old showed he is still Portugal's talisman and will play a major part in how far they go in Germany.

Many critics characterised his stint in Saudi as nothing more than a sojourn and a chance to top up his already considerable personal wealth. But Ronaldo's goals return in Euro 2024 qualifying – 10 – as Portugal topped their group, coupled with a domestic season that saw him score 50 goals in 51 games – 35 of them in the league for Al Nassr, a new Saudi Pro League record – offers proof he is not slowing down.

Next up for Ronaldo and Co is Turkey. Both teams opened their Group F assignments with wins and a victory for either will guarantee their place in the knockout rounds.

Turkey's own shining light comes in the form of Arda Guler, a talented 19-year-old winger on the books of Real Madrid, a club Ronaldo graced for almost a decade and where he remains their record scorer.

Guler has found playing time in Madrid harder to come by since switching from Fenerbahce for €20 million last summer. That's no surprise given that club's pool of attacking talent, and Guler has been earmarked by Madrid as one for the future.

Though on the periphery at the Spanish and European club champions, he is seminal to Turkey's hopes of