COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — History weighs heavily on Georgia’s chances of pulling off another stunning upset when it faces Spain in the round of 16 at the European Championships on Sunday.
Still, anything seems possible after Georgia and its flying winger, Khubica Kvaratskeria, beat Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo 2-0 in the group stage on Wednesday.
However, Spain has a much longer history than Portugal.
Long before Georgia made their first appearance in a major tournament as the bottom-placed team at Euro 2024, Spain had won consecutive European titles in 2008 and 2012.
They recorded a 7-1 thrashing in Tbilisi last September, before suffering a 3-1 defeat at Valladolid in a Euro 2024 qualifier two months later.
“The 7-1 score taught us a lot,” Georgia coach Willy Sagnol said Saturday, a day before the national team’s biggest match of the season. The winner will face either Germany or Denmark in Friday’s quarterfinals, which seems unlikely for Georgia.
In 2021, Sagnol’s first qualifying group as Georgia manager saw Spain win two more games on their way to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Add all this together and the match between Spain, ranked 8th in the FIFA world rankings, and Georgia, ranked 74th, will be the game with the biggest disparity among the eight teams in the round of 16.
“But we know Spain very well,” Sagnol said. “We’ve played them four times in the last three years and we lost all four times but that’s the reality. But tomorrow will be a different game.”
The main difference may be the confidence Georgia gained after beating Portugal to seal an unlikely place in the knockout stages.
“It will be a totally different game. Georgia has improved a lot,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Saturday.
Sagnol even suggested that the 7-1 defeat was one of the reasons Georgia is still in Germany.
“Of course it was a difficult moment for us, but as you know, sometimes you need very difficult moments in life to move forward,” said the former France defender, who played on the team that lost to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin.
“When you think you’re not good, when you think you’ve done everything wrong… it’s always good to have those moments.”
The match in Tbilisi also marked the international debut of Euro 2024 breakout star, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal. The Spanish teenager set a European Championship record by becoming the youngest player ever to score in a qualifying match in Tbilisi.
“He’s just getting started and I hope to continue enjoying playing with him for many years to come,” de la Fuente said. “We are trying to develop him not only as a football player but also as a person.”
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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
