During Euro 2020, two new countries discovered the competition. In addition to Finland, North Macedonia took advantage of the Nations League play-offs to participate in its first European Championship. Goran Pandev’s teammates then managed to force their destiny by winning 1-0 against… Georgia in the final of these play-offs. Four years later, the situation is similar for Georgians. Coming out fourth in a very complicated qualifying group with Spain, Scotland and Norway, Willy Sagnol’s players owe their reprieve to their very good performances in the Nations League. Promoted to League B with 16 points out of 18 possible obtained against Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Gibraltar, Georgia remained in the race for the play-offs. A great reward for a team that has been riding the momentum born from these Euro 2020 play-offs for four years.
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With a golden generation emerging with Giorgi Mammardashvili (Valence), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Saba Sazonov (Torino), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux) and Georges Mikautadze (FC Metz) to accompany their leader Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Naples), the Georgia was able to develop his group and find stability while gradually incorporating the young talents he was missing. If some are waiting to have a more important role like the three elements of Shakhtar Donetsk Irakli Azarovi, Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Luka Latsabidze, Gabriel Sigua (FC Basel), Luka Gagnidze (Dinamo Moscow) or even Georgiy Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi) are all aged 23 years or less and represent the future of the Crusaders (nickname of the selection), Euro 2024 will be synonymous with the end of a cycle aimed at making Georgia a competitive team. “The success of my work lies in the fact of having offered the possibility to Georgia to qualify for a Euro, in a play-off. Afterwards, obviously, when you get there, you want to qualify because you have been playing matches with this objective for almost three years” Willy Sagnol told us in an interview published on our site last September.
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A dazzling progress!
Able to build on the surprising epic of 2020, Georgia now proves that it is a nation much more calibrated to hope to play in an international competition. Now the 77th nation in the world, although it was not in the top 100 in 2018, this team has experienced meteoric progress. If at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, the selection had enjoyed a good period (3rd in the qualifiers for Euro 1996 and the 2002 World Cup), Shota Arveladze’s team (ex Ajax Amsterdam) or even Kakhaber Kaladze (ex AC Milan) had failed to qualify for an international competition. From now on, the dream is allowed since this Tuesday, the selection is only 90 (or 120) minutes away from writing the most beautiful page in its history. Indeed, the Georgians will host Greece in Tbilisi with the desire to bring down the winners of Euro 2004 and thus discover this competition. A possibility obtained last Thursday against Luxembourg.
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Despite the absence of the suspended Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgians provided the essentials by scoring a 2-0 success against the Duchy selection. The mission will not be easy since the Greeks impressed by shattering Kazakhstan with a 5-0 victory. “We need to improve the quality of our game, because Greece will come to Tbilisi with a high level of motivation and confidence”, had also explained Willy Sagnol after the match against Luxembourg. Little thumb of the meeting, Georgia will obviously count on the presence of a passionate public at the Boris Paichadze National Stadium in Tbilisi. Nearly 337,600 people were ready to buy the tickets which sold out in 5 hours and 35 minutes while the stadium can only accommodate 54,200. Figures which testify to the fervor in the country for the Georgian heroes. A unity which is reflected within the Georgian team. “It doesn’t matter who scores the goals, the most important thing is to go out on the pitch to fight and win” recalled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before this historic match against Greece where he will be back. The message has been sent, now Georgia will play for history tomorrow night.
Pub. 03/25/2024 9:00 p.m. Updated 03/25/2024 9:16 p.m.
2024-03-25 20:00:00
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