Arda Güler's Messi-Style Free Kick Can't Save Turkey in 2-1 Belgium Defeat

Arda Güler scored the free kick of the international break on Thursday night, and it still was not enough to save Turkey. The Real Madrid playmaker bent a 20th-minute free kick from around 30 yards into the top corner against Belgium, a strike instantly compared to Lionel Messi’s famous 2019 free kick against Liverpool, and Turkey still lost 2-1 in Izmir. It was Turkey’s first free-kick goal in more than five years, scored on new coach Sergen Yalçın’s debut, and it was answered within 10 minutes.

How did Güler score the free kick?

From long range, with his left foot, and without hesitation. Turkey were awarded a central free kick in the 20th minute, and Güler stepped up to bend a sumptuous strike into the top corner of the Belgian net, Get Spanish Football News reports. beSoccer puts the distance at roughly 30 metres and describes the effort as both ferocious and pinpoint, arrowing straight into Senne Lammens’ top corner. The goal put Turkey ahead in front of a frenetic crowd at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium, and it was his eighth goal in his 37th appearance for his country, Fanatik reports.

Why is everyone comparing it to Messi’s free kick?

Because of the shape of the strike. beSoccer draws the comparison directly to Messi’s set piece in the first leg of the 2018-19 Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Liverpool at Camp Nou, a curling left-footed effort into the top corner from long range. The comparison is about the technique rather than the occasion, and it landed immediately: the clip of Güler’s goal was being shared as a Messi-style free kick within minutes. Fanatik goes further, calling it an even more aesthetically pleasing version of the goal Güler scored against Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League. For a 21-year-old, that is the kind of comparison that follows a player for years, and it is also the kind that invites a second look at the player rather than just the goal. Messi’s own farewell turned viral this season when a Benin player’s selfie attempt split fans, and the two moments share the same shape: a single image that travels further than the match around it.

How did Belgium answer so quickly?

With two goals in three minutes. Kevin De Bruyne levelled in the 27th minute from Jeremy Doku’s pass, and Charles De Ketelaere completed the turnaround in the 30th minute off Maxim De Cuyper’s delivery, Sportskeeda reports. The speed of the response is the story of the game: Turkey’s lead lasted seven minutes, and the team that had burst out of the gates under a new coach was behind before half-time. Belgium’s third win of the campaign lifted them to nine points, second in the group and one point behind France, while Turkey have now lost all five group games.

What did Kevin De Bruyne say about Güler afterwards?

He called him one of the best players in the world. Speaking in the post-match mixed zone, as quoted by the Madrid Xtra account on X and reported by Sportskeeda, De Bruyne said: “Arda Guler is one of the best players in the world. He also plays for one of the best clubs in the world.” He added, in comments reported by Onedio and translated from Turkish: “Arda Guler is a magnificent footballer. Our eyes were always on him in Turkey. The other teammates must take more responsibility, because all the responsibility was on Arda. We also set up our plan accordingly.” It is a remarkable thing for the opposing captain to say after winning the game: that the plan was built around stopping one player, and that the player still scored the goal of the night.

Why does the goal matter more than the result?

Because of who scored it, and who was watching. The goal was the first celebrated by Sergen Yalçın in his first game as Turkey coach, after Vincenzo Montella’s dismissal, and Yalçın himself was famous for free kicks as a player, Fanatik reports. It was also Turkey’s first free-kick goal since Burak Yılmaz scored against the Netherlands in March 2021. And the praise is not limited to the opposition: teammate Marc Cucurella picked Güler as Real Madrid’s best player on El Partidazo de COPE this week, ahead of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois, saying the team plays better when Güler is on the field. Cucurella has been in the middle of his own viral moment this season, handing a referee his dropped red card, and his judgement carries weight inside the Madrid dressing room. His Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior had his own headline moment last month, sent off for a hair pull against Villarreal. Güler has made 14 appearances for Madrid this season with four goals and six assists, plus a Player of the Month award for September, Sportskeeda reports.

What happens next for Turkey?

France, and then the reckoning. Turkey face France in their final group game, which Managing Madrid notes is largely meaningless apart from pride, with relegation from League A close to certain after five straight defeats. The Yalçın era has started with a defeat, but it has also started with a goal that will be replayed for years. The Nations League has already produced one famous night this season, when Harry Kane won his record 126th England cap, and Güler’s free kick belongs on the same shelf: a single moment that outlives the result. For Güler, the attention turns back to Madrid, where he has become central to the project. For Turkey, the question is whether a team that leans this heavily on a 21-year-old can find anyone else to carry the load, because De Bruyne’s verdict was also a warning: the opposition already knows where the danger is, and they plan for it anyway.