Very expensive victory for Spain against Georgia to close the qualifying phase for the Euro Cup under the status of top seed. It was in the game, as La Roja had to insistently and patiently wear down the Georgian rock, as strong in defense as it was dangerous on the counterattack. Also regarding the price to pay with Gavi’s serious injury to his right knee. The definitive extent of the Blaugrana’s illness remains to be known, but it looks ugly and the first scans point to a torn cruciate ligament. The team recovered from the shock of seeing the Los Palacios player retire between tears and gestures of pain, rounding off an almost perfect path to the European Championship with goals from Le Normand, Ferran Torres and Lochoshvili, an own goal.
Aware that the 1-7 in Tbilisi does not reflect the reality of a dangerous rival, especially through the figure of Kvaratskhelia, Spain got to work from the beginning, putting the Caucasian team in their area. Not five minutes had elapsed when Ferran Torres placed a free kick from a angle to the left at the far post, where Le Normand emerged powerfully to debut his status as a scorer with La Roja. The ‘txuri urdin’, along with Gavi the only one who repeated the title after the victory in Cyprus, confirmed his once again indisputable status in the national team by highlighting his power in the air.
Georgia seemed to blame the blow, which was saved by Valencia’s Mamardashvili before Gavi’s shot, whose rejected ball Nico Wililams sent high. It was only a mirage, as Willy Sagnol’s team responded forcefully, with a send to Chakvetadze’s space to uncheck the fearsome Kvaratskhelia, who made good on his status as a world star to define with great calm before the desperate departure of Unai Simón .
Spain
Unai Simón, Carvajal, Le Normand, Iñigo Martínez, Gayà, Rodri (Zubimendi, min. 86), Gavi (Sancet, min. 26), Fabián Ruiz, Ferran Torres (Lamine Yamal, min. 65), Morata and Nico Williams ( Riquelme, min. 86).
3
–
1
Georgia
Mamardashvili, Kakabadze (Mamuchashvili, min. 90), Kverkvelia, Kashia, Locoshvili, Azarov (Gocholeishvili, min. 77), Kvekveskiri (Mekvabishvili, min. 60), Kochorashvili, Chakvetadze (Altunashvili, min. 90), Mikautadze (Davitashvili, min. 60) y Kvaratskhelia.
Goals: 1-0: min. 3, Le Normand. 1-1: min. 9, Kvaratskhelia. 2-1: min. 55. Ferran Torres. 3-1: min. 72, Lochoshvili, own goal.
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (Romania). He warned Rodri, Kvaratskhelia, Kashia and Inigo Martinez.
Incidents: Qualification match for Euro 2024 played at the José Zorrilla in Valladolid before 24,146 spectators.
It was soon seen that the danger was in lost balls in red zones, as the Georgians deployed like bullets on the counterattack. Meanwhile, Spain accumulated possession of the ball but lacked depth, with Nico Williams as the best resource to try to break the Georgian network from the left side. That’s where La Roja turned in search of a new advantage.
In a selection window plagued by injuries, the Barça fan trembled when he saw Gavi in pain after protecting a ball with his body. As De la Fuente recalled in the preview, the Barça player is a hyperactive footballer full of energy. That impetus led him to return to the grass, from which he emerged minutes later crying due to poor support after a check that affected his right knee. He had to leave his place on the green to Sancet and his expression of pain influenced the suspicion with which FIFA breaks are valued by the clubs. He is yet to know the exact extent of the injury but it is seriously worrying and the Federation is already talking about a “major injury.”
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What happened to the culé midfielder froze the atmosphere on the freezing Valladolid night and affected the pace of the duel, like Oyarzabal’s injury in Limasol. Morata had the goal in a point-blank shot after Ferran’s cross that was thwarted by Mamardashvili with feline reflexes, a well-known guarantee between the sticks day after day in the League, but beyond a deflected shot by Nico Williams, Spain lacked speed and clarity of ideas on the edge of the rival area to break the tie before the break.
Georgian wall falls
The start of the second half confirmed the landscape: a game to break rocks and arm yourself with patience in search of the goal. The Georgian 5-3-2 seemed impregnable when Rodri found the opening with an impeccable header from the penalty spot. The last barrier was missing, that of Mamardashvili, who once again showed off with a changed hand to prevent the second Spanish goal, the one that came shortly after with another header, this one from Ferran Torres at the far post after a fantastic cross from Gayà.
The Barça winger, who maintains a scoring love affair with the national team and has 18 goals in 40 international matches, unlocked the duel and gave his place on the field to Lamine Yamal, who reached his fourth duel with La Roja and is now protected as an international Spanish against the interest of Morocco. The boy celebrated the occasion as he knows best, overflowing down the right wing with a changed leg and placing a cross that Lochoshvili deflected towards his own goal to put the Spanish victory on track. A very expensive victory.
2023-11-19 23:42:32
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