Spain recovers from initial shock and advances to quarter-finals against Georgia | Euro 2024

Spain against Germany, therefore. You don’t mind if we do. The tournament hosts and their best team so far will meet in Stuttgart for a place in the semi-finals after the selection had 31 shots and scored four goals to beat Georgia here. Only the word ease is perhaps not quite right. They were impressive again en route to a secure victory with goals from Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo, a nice combination of quality, control and speed and are surely favourites, but it may seem a little easier than it was. If only because for the first time here in Germany they were trailing.

If nothing else, it risks diminishing what Georgia did here, even though it deserved to advance – and it did. Willy Sagnol’s men are returning home, where 3.7 million people will rightly welcome them as heroes. The lowest ranked team here, 74th in the world, 35th in Europe, it’s no surprise. What’s surprising is how much we’ll miss them, how much fun we had watching them, how far they came. And for a while here they wondered if they couldn’t go even a little further; Sagnol’s side opened the scoring, becoming the first to score against Spain, and when they finally fell, they looked to claw their way back into a match they had refused to give up.

Six sheets of paper hung on the stand, spelling out the word BELIEVE in large red capital letters. What if they really could? Giorgi Kochorashvili had already described this film as “a beautiful and incredible film”. Before the moment they crossed Spain and scored the first goal here. They had been playing for 18 minutes when it happened. Or at least Spain did; Georgia had resisted as best she could while the red shirts descended on them in waves, each more insistent, each more intense than the last.

It took Nico Williams just 50 seconds to get past Otar Kakabadze and win the first ball, Fabián Ruiz just over a hundred to get the first shot, and Giorgi Mamardashvili less than 10 minutes to make the first save. By the time Georgia came out of their half, possession statistics read 88% to 12% and shots counted 9-0. But for all their dominance, when they came out, they were devastating. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia started, flew down the left wing and came inside, and it all happened so quickly.

Kvaratskhelia let the ball slip away but didn’t stop. Otar Kiteishvili was the recipient of the ball, running into midfield, opening play on the other side where Kakabadze was running into space. He reached the edge of the area and sent a curling ball into the penalty area for Kvaratskhelia, who shot from the left. Robin Le Normand was the first to get there but could only deflect it into the net. It was happening; Georgia had scored. Well, Spain had done it, but who cared? Not the substitutes who flocked to the field, that’s for sure, nor the supporters who cried on their cheeks either. It was a shock, THE shock.

Spain felt it. They were so on top, so superior. You couldn’t really find fault with anything they’d done so far – except maybe not ending this move before it completely unraveled. But now they have lost control a little. Georgia was flying. Belief, indeed. It’s not that they had the ball, nor that they repelled Spain, but the desire to run, to go there as soon as they had the opportunity, and to go there in numbers, was something.

The Norman had to block a shot then Mikautadze tumbled into the area. Another break, again started by Kiteishvili, saw the same two sprinting up the pitch, the roar increasing with each step. Spain were in a bit of a hurry, but earned their way just before the break when Rodri found Williams who reacted again and the Manchester City midfielder guided a clean shot into the corner. Georgia had a player down when entering; the worst part was that it was Kiteishvili, so impressive until then.

Nico Williams profile

The celebration spoke of relief, and it was natural to believe that it was done now, with the match back in Spain’s hands. That they would score again seemed inevitable, logic restored. The threat remained on both sides, however, with both sides advancing quickly in their own ways. A sprint at the start of the second half saw Kvaratskhelia catch Unai Simón from the halfway line; his shot, however, fell just short. Almost immediately, Lamine Yamal fled on his own, heading inland from the right. Knocked down at the edge of the area, the 16-year-old took the free kick himself.

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Mamardashvili then made a superb save, his sixth already, but he couldn’t stop everything. The ball was passed to Lamine Yamal who served Ruiz with a superb pass to give Spain the lead. Eleven seconds had passed between the save and the goal. Lamine Yamal then fired another shot just wide and, given another chance soon after, diverted the ball beyond the far post. selectionon The Georgians were not satisfied with two goals, although they were now more controlled in their quest for additional goals, with time working in their favor. Exhausted, the Georgians became scarce and desperate in their attempts to advance. When Kvaratskhelia found Giorgi Tsitaishvili, giving him a good view of the goal, his shot went wide.

They still tried, until the end, even though the risk was realised, a series of Kvaratskhelia that ended at the edge of the Spanish box. In a flash, with quick feet, Williams was inside the Georgian box, brilliantly lifting the ball over Mamardashvili and into the net to make it three. It was now done, Olmo wrapping it up with a fourth to allow Spain to reach the quarter-finals.

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