Spain beat Georgia 4-1 this Sunday (30) in Cologne and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Euro-2024 where they will face hosts Germany on Friday 5th July in Stuttgart.
Rodri (39′), Fabián Ruiz (51′), Nico Williams (74′) and Dani Olmo (83′) turned the score around after defender Robin le Normand (18′) opened the scoring with an own goal, a setback that the players led by coach Luis de la Fuente managed to overcome without losing patience.
“We created a lot of chances, today it was an 8-1 game. The match was totally and absolutely controlled by us, we had some very brilliant moments”, celebrated coach De la Fuente at a press conference.
Georgia was eliminated after reaching the round of 16 in its first appearance at a major tournament.
With control of possession, Spain settled into the opponent’s half from the start of the match, looking to open up a gap in the Georgian defense on the wings. But, once they had overcome the defense, La Roja came up against Giorgi Mamardashvili’s gloves.
Valencia’s goalkeeper, one of the best in the tournament, intercepted shots from Pedri (5′) and Dani Carvajal (11′) from inside the box in the first few minutes, resisting Spain’s total siege.
The Georgian fans, who were numerous in the stands, made themselves felt, booing Spain’s long possessions, supporting their team in defense and shouting with enthusiasm at every counterattack, a weapon of the team led by French coach Willy Sagnol.
1st goal conceded in the Euro
And true to plan, the speedy Crusaders only needed one big counterattack to open the scoring. George Mikautadze attracted the attention of three Spanish players in midfield and sent the ball down to the right wing, where full-back Otar Kakabadze was running free. He crossed into the centre of the box, where Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was approaching, but it was Spanish defender Robin le Normand who ended up sending the ball into his own net, an unfortunate move.
In this way, without even having shot on goal, Georgia took the lead and inflicted the first goal conceded by Spain in the tournament.
Without losing their calm and aware of their superiority, the ‘Roja’ started trying shots from outside the area as well.
And after three more saves from Mamardashvili (22′, 35′ and 38′), a cross-shot from Rodri from the edge of the area tied the game. The midfielder, with a great performance, would later be named Player of the Match by UEFA.
“The first time I saw it, I controlled it and hit it. These are situations against this type of team that we have to take advantage of more,” said the Spanish midfielder in the press conference.
Álvaro Morata was in the path of the ball, a situation that was reviewed due to a possible positional offside for the Spanish captain.
“We are very happy and proud of what we did. It’s difficult to talk about these assumptions at the moment, but if you want my opinion, it was clearly offside (by Morata). We saw something similar in the Netherlands-France game and we saw it ten times today,” lamented Willy Sagnol.
The second half started with a scare for the Spanish when Kvaratskhelia saw goalkeeper Unai Simón in an advanced position and tried from midfield. But the ball went out.
Spain responded in the best possible way, thanks in particular to two great plays by Lamine Yamal.
See too:
Discover the Gazeta Esportiva channel on YouTube
Yamal and Williams shine again
The 16-year-old almost scored with a direct free kick saved once again by Mamardashvili (51′), but then he lifted a ball into the box with the inside of his left foot and Fabián Ruiz appeared to put Spain ahead on the scoreboard. .
Not satisfied with his second assist in the tournament, Yamal also looked for the first goal on several occasions (53′, 63′, 73′ and 82′), but it was the other winger, Nico Williams, who finished a great counterattack, beating Mamardashvili in one-on-one with category.
With the Georgians already surrendered, Dani Olmo sealed the rout with a shot into the goalkeeper’s right corner.
The result sends a direct message to future opponents, many of whom are struggling to score goals.
Georgia thus ends its first participation in a European Championship in the round of 16 and, despite the bitterness of elimination, leaves with its head held high, having defeated Portugal (2-0) and resisted the powerful ‘Roja’ for 50 minutes.
The next challenge is set to be much more difficult for Spain, who will face the hosts ‘Mannschaft’ in the quarter-finals, the other team that left the best impression at the start of the tournament, in a match that has the flavor of an early final between two big favorites.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
