Without trembling, Spain qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 by crushing Georgia (4-1), Sunday in Cologne. La Roja, who had started by conceding the opening goal on an unfortunate own goal by Robin Le Normand, quickly got back on track to ultimately leave no chance to the surprise guest of the 8th.
Published on: 06/30/2024 – 11:03 p.m. Modified on: 06/30/2024 – 11:13 p.m.
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Spain left Georgia (4-1) no chance, Sunday June 30, in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, in Cologne. La Roja will meet Germany, the host country, in the next match for a poster which promises to be explosive on Friday in Stuttgart.
Fifty minutes is roughly how long the Georgians’ crazy dream lasted in their first round of 16 of their first major international competition.
But Luis de la Fuente’s men confirmed the excellent impression left in the first round with a well-oiled game which, without neglecting the preparation phases, seeks to really hurt the opponent without unnecessary convolutions.
They can only be criticised for their lack of efficiency (36 shots, 13 on target), like Lamine Yamal’s multiple wastes in the second half.
The Norman weighs down the start of the match
His teammates quickly recovered from an opening goal, which was inevitably against the run of play, but which gave this match its full flavor.
On the first Georgian incursion beyond the halfway line, after a nice delay in the middle of the field, Georges Mikautadze shifted the full-back Otar Kakabadze who swallowed up all the space left free on the right before crossing.
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Under threat from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Robin Le Normand hesitated and finally put his hip to deflect the ball fleeing just past Unai Simon’s left post (0-1, 18th), triggering jubilation in the stadium, which was largely won over to the cause of the “Crusaders”.
But, apart from an attempt from midfield by Kvaratskhelia (48th) which Unai Simon, much too advanced, was very happy to see go wide, Georgia suffered the law of a team which had already inflicted a 7-1 and a 3-1 on them in the qualifiers.
Despite 9 more saves from Giorgi Mamardashvili, the match often resembled handball, as the white and red defence was huddled in its last 25 metres.
Fabian Ruiz relaunches La Roja
The equalizer thus came at the end of a fairly long sequence of play where Nico Williams found Rodri with a luminous pass at ground level, alone in the center, and whose low cross shot was unstoppable (1-1, 39th).
The explosive reaction of the Spanish bench, most of whose players found themselves on the pitch, showed the relief that an equalizer before the break had given them.
Conversely, several Georgian players fell prostrate on the pitch, as if they knew what was coming next.
When Fabian Ruiz, totally isolated at the far post, smashed a center from Yamal with a header too powerful for Mamardashvili, still on the trajectory (2-1, 51st), the mass was said.
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With two days less rest than their opponents, after their exploit against Portugal (2-0), Willy Sagnol’s men gave everything they had left in the tank, but in vain.
They well deserved the ovation from their supporters at the final whistle, and probably also from a few Spaniards.
But Williams and Dani Olmo showed off their technique in movement, their lucidity and the quality of their shots to give more scope to the Spanish victory (3-1, 75th and 4-1, 83rd) and probably nightmares to the German supporters.
With AFP
