June 30 – On a night of great drama and goal-mouth action, Spain dispatched a superb Georgia 4-1 with three-second half goals from Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo to book a last-eight encounter with hosts Germany.
Tournament darlings Georgia bowed out of Euro 2024 in grand style, once again playing their electric counter-attacking football. They were enchanting in the group stages and for 21 minutes they dreamt of causing one of the all-time upsets in tournament history after taking the lead before Spain’s class proved too much.
Spain were always going to be on the ball and so the Georgians’ needed to pick their moments and use them wisely. In the group stages, they showed that they didn’t need much and against Spain, they delivered with flamboyance in the 18th minute, a trademark counter resulting in Robin Le Normand deflecting the ball into his own net.
It was a superlative start from Georgia. They had just 15% of possession, yet Georgia with their first attack of the match were ahead, the first time that Spain had conceded in the tournament.
This was after all the most skewed tie of the last 16, but although Goliath was besting David, the fan favourites were outwitting the tournament favourites. The debutants played with panache. They were the anti-thesis of lethargic sides like England and Belgium.
The Georgians were plucky and enterprising, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia starring in the final third. Every time Kvaratskhelia steamed forward, he caused havoc, the Spanish defence dropping off and almost opening up. With the ball at his feet, he galloped with great menace.
He radiated the self-confidence and exuberance of great players, playing with a directness that alarmed his opponents. Kvaratskhelia and his team thrived when breaking, but Georgia didn’t capitalise. In the 32nd minute, Georges Mikautadze claimed a penalty.
Before and after the goal, Spain attacked with Pedri, multiple times, and Fabian Ruiz in good positions to strike. Outstanding in the group stages, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was always key to his side’s fortunes and he prevented Marc Cucurella and Nico Williams from equalising with solid saves.
It was wonderful box-to-box action. Alas, for Georgia, Mamardashvili could not keep out a low 39th-minute drive from the imperious Rodri after Williams teed him up. The Spanish were on level terms. They had 28 touches in the Georgian box in the first half, their opponents just two in Unai Simon’s box.
The drama was unrelenting. After the restart, Kvaratskhelia spotted Simon off his line and launched a cheeky attempt from the halfway line that bounced wide narrowly. The Napoli dangerman, like the rest of his team, was simply bold.
But the next goal came at the other end. Mamardashvili punched away a freekick from Lamine Yamal, but Spain spread the play to the right and Yamal’s cross found Fabian Ruiz to head home, 2-1.
The intensity of the match dropped. Spain wanted to protect their lead and, at the same time, hunt for a third. Often, Yamal found himself in dangerous positions in and around the box. The young star has been playing with so much ease and confidence on the big stage.
Georgia struggled to get on the ball. Kvaratskhelia retained the same great industry, pressing up front and chasing balls, but he became more peripheral. Just after the hour mark, five Spaniards handled Mikautadze to prevent a counter. De La Fuente’s men knew how much of a threat Georgia could pose. But Sagnol’s team were also tiring, the spaces on the field became bigger and Spain found more time to combine in the final third.
Even so, the margins remained small. Georgia transitioned, failed to pick out the right pass and on the counter Nico Williams sped away, completing his run by leaving Giorgi Gvelesiani for dead and slamming the ball into the roof of the net with great composure. It was as fine a goal as they come, courtesy of Williams, who together with Yamal has given Spain a lethal edge they’d previously missed.
Spain never looked back after their third goal. Georgia struggled to contain Williams whenever he cut inside. Waves of attack followed, often with crisp Spanish combination football. They streamed forward in search of more goals and in the 83rd minute, substitute Dani Olmo, so superb against Albania, shifted the ball from his right to his left foot before handsomely finding the bottom left corner, 4-1.
Spain demonstrated their resilience, coming from behind for the first time in the tournament to defeat Georgia, whose remarkable debut will live in the collective memory, with relative ease in the second half. Germany have been warned.
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