In the fourth game of the 1/8 finals of the European Cup on July 1, Beijing time, Georgia played against Spain. Georgia is ranked 74th in the world, with 4 points in the group stage to advance for the first time, and Spain is ranked 8th in the world, winning all three games in the group stage to become one of the favorites to win the championship, and the difference in strength between the two teams is very large.
Spain started with a surge of attacks, with Nico breaking through a quick cross from the left that was cleared by Jorashvili before Morata could pick it up. Carvajal's low cross from the right was linked up and Pedri was blocked. Spain continued to create set-piece chances, with Alvaro Morata heading at the near post brilliantly saved by Mamardashvili and Laporte's header from a corner that looked like the Matadors were on hand to break the deadlock.
In the 19th minute, Georgia seized the opportunity to counterattack, Kovaratskhelia received the ball on the left side of the midfield, got rid of the defensive cross, Mikotaze dribbled from left to right, Kakabadze on the right hit the opponent's Lenormand chest, the ball refracted and flew into the net, and Spain sent an own goal.
The backward Spain was besieged by high pressure, Ruiz's powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area was saved by Mamardashvili, Pedri volleyed high on the line of the penalty area, Laporte's long-range shot flew off the crossbar, and Cucurella's furious shot from the periphery was saved again. In the face of dense defense, Spain does not want to waste too much time on short pass penetration, that is, it constantly hits the goal with long-range shots, and even if it is blocked, it can get a second chance to attack.
In the 39th minute, Nico picked up a cross from the left and fired a shot from the top of the arc to equalise with a precise blow to the bottom corner of the net, even the brave Mamardashvili could not do anything.
Spain made a big mistake in the second half, Pedri was tackled in front, Kovaratskhelia rushed to the center circle with the ball and shot directly with his feet, Simon couldn't defend and watched the ball go slightly wide of the goal. Spain dodged a catastrophe and quickly created a 19-meter free kick opportunity, Yamal's direct shot was blocked, Morata grabbed two points to get the ball to reorganize, Yamal crossed the ball from the right, Ruiz outflanked the goal in front of the goal in an offside position, and completed the overtake 2-1.
In the 74th minute, Nico received a long pass from the backfield to eat Villeciani on the opposite side, and burst into the left side of the penalty area with a strong shot through the goal to extend the score advantage to 3-1! In the 83rd minute, Oyarzabal did it back in the penalty area, Olmo followed up in the middle to get rid of the push into the near corner, Mama Dashvili's vision was blocked, and he could only watch the ball roll into the net from front of him.
At the end of the game, Spain defeated Georgia 4-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship for the eighth time in team history, becoming the fourth team in the quarterfinals after Switzerland, Germany and England. Spain's next opponent will be hosts Germany.