At 3 a.m. Beijing time on July 1, a 1/8 final of the 2024 European Championship in Germany will be played at the Cologne Arena, with the Spanish team facing the Georgian team. In the first half, Lenormand set himself up an own goal under pressure from Kvaratskhelia, and then Rodri pushed home the equaliser; In the second half, Yamal set up Fabian Ruiz to take the lead, Nico Williams scored another goal and substitute Olmo scored the icing on the cake. In the end, the Spanish team eliminated the Georgian team 4-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship, where they will face the host Germany in the quarterfinals.
Spain, ranked 8th in the world, were the only team in the tournament to have won all three of their matches from the Group of Death, beating Croatia, Italy and Albania in a row to win three games without conceding a goal. Georgia are ranked 74th in the world, the lowest of all participating teams, and this is their first European Championship. In the group stage, the Georgian team won one win, one draw and one loss to qualify for the third place. The two teams met in the qualifying stages of the European Championships, with Spain scoring 10 goals over two legs, including a 7-1 thrashing victory.
In the 4th minute, the Spanish team crossed a low flat ball from the right side of the field, Pedri stepped forward to the penalty area and fell to the ground to tackle, and the ball was obtained by goalkeeper Mamadashvili. In the 11th minute, Nick Williams drove a corner kick from the left into the box, Mamadashvili saved the ball, and the Georgian defender took the lead in the scramble. In the 16th minute, Yamal drove a corner from the right into the box and Laporte headed wide. In the 18th minute, the Georgian midfielder dribbled horizontally and then split to the right side, Kakabaze received the ball and crossed on the right side of the front field, and Lenormand in the middle of the penalty area accidentally set himself up under the pressure of Kvaratskhelia, and the Georgian team led the Spanish team 1-0. It was Spain's first goal conceded in this tournament.
In the 22nd minute, Fabian Ruiz volleyed with his left foot in front of the penalty area, which Mamadashvili saved. In the 27th minute, Pedri blasted a right-footed shot in front of the penalty area, and the ball went high. In the 29th minute, Laporte fired a long-range shot from a further position, but the ball was still high over the crossbar. In the 35th minute, Cucurella volleyed with his left foot in front of the penalty area, and Mamadashvili quickly went down to save the ball. In the 37th minute, the Spanish team played a quick counterattack, Nico William's volley was saved, and the Spanish team organized a second offensive. Nico Williams crossed the ball back to the top of the arc on the left side of the box and Rodley fired home with a left-footed volley to give Spain 1-1 Georgia.
In the 40th minute, the Georgian team, which had conceded the goal, suffered another blow, and Kitishvili was injured and could not hold on, and was replaced by Artunashvili. At the end of the first half, the two teams were provisionally tied 1-1.
In the second half, the side was changed again, in the 48th minute, the Spanish team pressed to the front of the penalty area to besiege the opponent, the Georgian team broke the ball and played a quick counterattack, Kvaratskhelia dribbled the ball, just arrived in the midfield and played a hanging shot across the half, Simon hit the outside of the penalty area to catch up, unfortunately the ball was slightly off. In the 50th minute, the Spanish team won a free kick in front of the penalty area, Yamal took a left-footed volley, the ball was very powerful and penetrated the wall, and was saved by Mama Dashvili, the Spanish team organized a second attack, Yamal crossed at 45 degrees on the right side of the front field, and the unguarded Fabian Ruiz scored with a header at the back point, and the Spanish team overtook the Georgian team 2-1. It was Yamal's second assist in the European Championship.
After overtaking the scoreline, Spain replaced Pedri with Olmo. In the 52nd minute, Yamal had another chance in front of the penalty area, and his low shot went just wide. In the 55th minute, Morata got a chance to get his feet in front of the penalty area, and his low right-footed shot went wide of the post. In the 63rd minute, Georgia broke the ball in their own penalty area and then mispassed to the opponent, and Yamal fired a low shot wide from the middle. In the 66th minute, Spain made a change, with Grimaldo replacing Cucurella and Oyarzabal replacing Morata. In the 68th minute, the Georgian midfielder found Zitaishvili diagonally, who had a one-on-one chance and fired a shot from a tight angle on the left side of the penalty area into the side-netting.
In the 74th minute, Yamal burst forward with the ball from the right side, collided with his teammates in the middle of the penalty area, and then crossed the middle on the right side of the small penalty area, and the ball bounced off the defender and into the goal. However, the linesman immediately raised the flag to signal that Yamal was offside. In the 75th minute, Spain drove to the left side of the front after a steal, Nico Williams dribbled past a defender and pushed the goal on the left side of the penalty area, and Spain led Georgia 3-1.
In the 77th minute, the Spanish team played a fast attack again, Nico Williams crossed the middle after passing on the left side of the penalty area, and the low shot of Olmo was too small, and the goalkeeper fell to the ground to save the ball. In the 83rd minute, the Spanish team crossed from the left side of the frontfield, and Olmo at the top of the arc stopped the ball with his right foot and pushed it with his left foot, and the ball rolled into the lower left corner of the goal, and the Spanish team led the Georgian team 4-1. In the end, the match ended at full-time with Spain winning 4-1 against Georgia.