In the early morning of July 1, Beijing time, the 2024 Euro Championship continued the 1/8 knockout round, and the first game to be played, England survived 2-1 and defeated Slovakia in a reversal.
In the other game, the world No. 8 Spain took on the dark horse Georgia, and the Spanish team performed well in this European Championship, defeating Croatia and Italy in the group stage, and the team not only won three consecutive group games, but also completed a clean sheet in all three games.
Georgia had shown quite good competitive form in the final round of the group stage, and in the face of great pressure to qualify, Georgia finally defeated Portugal, the strongest team in the same group, 2-0, while the main rival Czech team lost to Turkey, so Georgia successfully completed the catch-up and overtook the Czech team, and qualified as the third place team with better results.
In last year's qualifiers, Georgia was scored 10 by Spain, and the difference in strength between the two sides is more obvious! Not long after the start of the game, Spain's right side of the front court cooperated, and the ball was sent to the goal, and Pedri's tackle was too good to be confiscated.
A continuous pass in the Spanish frontcourt! There is no good way to face the Georgian iron bucket formation. The combination of Nico Williams and Cucurella! Kuku's bottom inverted triangle is destroyed out of the baseline, corner kick.
In the 10th minute, Spain's corner kick was hoisted in front of the goal! Mamadashvili scrambled to destroy the ball. Spain's tactical corner opportunity almost allowed Georgia to hit the counter-attack. Cucurella's through pass from the left, Nico Williams receives a shot from a tight angle and is blocked! Continue to the corner!
In the 17th minute, Georgia counterattacked after a steal, Kakabaze crossed after a fast horse run on the right side, and Lenormand made an own goal under the pressure of Kvaratskhelia!
In the following period of play, although Spain had a lot of chances, the goal still did not break through until the 38th minute, when Nico Williams took the ball on the left side and knocked back the triangle, and Rodri responded and shot directly into the net! Spain tied Georgia 1-1! The first half was a 1-1 draw.
In the first half, Georgia took the lead thanks to Lenormand's own goal, but Rodri equalized with a long-range shot just before half-time! The two sides returned to the same running line. Spain had a whopping 78.9 per cent possession and had a clear advantage on the field.
At the start of the second half, Spain played a diagonal pass from the right side, Morata received the ball and knocked it back, and Ruiz followed up with a shot that went wide. Kvaratskhelia counterattacked and fired directly from the middle line! Almost got in.
In the 50th minute, Fabian Ruiz received an assist from Yamal's cross and scored with a header, and Spain took a 2-1 lead. Kvaratskhelia was tackled and immediately counter-robbed, and Artunashvili was fouled with a flying tackle.
The two teams kept making substitutions, and Georgia's quick counterattack gave Chiteshvili on the left side, and he shot straight into the penalty area from a small angle.
In the 74th minute, the Spanish backfield organized a counterattack, Nico Williams received on the left side and easily shook off Gvereciani, burst into the penalty area and volleyed into the top corner to score, Spain led 3-1.
In the 82nd minute, the continuous cooperation of the left front field of Spain! After taking the ball outside the arc of the Olmo penalty area, he got rid of it with a false swing and pushed it directly into the net, but Mama Dashvili did not react! Spain leads Georgia 4-1!
Lenormand was the first to send an own goal, and Spain was on the back foot for a while, with Rodri equalising just before half-time, and Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Olmo scoring in quick succession in the second half, and Spain finally completed the comeback.
A European Championship destined to go down in Georgian history, a generation of players destined to go down in Georgian history – every step and every second of their journey here is a great honour.
Rodri was voted Man of the Match with 4 goals on the comeback! Spain created the biggest comeback victory in the history of the European Championship!
The two groups of the quarterfinals have also been announced: England vs Switzerland and Spain vs Germany.
European Cup Treble vs Treble! Germany and Spain will face off in the quarter-finals!
On one side is the host who is aiming for the championship, and on the other side is the Matador army, who are in good form with four consecutive wins.