Spain Escapes Georgia, Looks Forward to Germany in Quarters
Spain and Georgia would meet at the Round of 16 in Cologne, in what was Georgia’s first major tournament ever. During the first meeting between the two in European Qualifiers, Spain thrashed Georgia 7-1, and 3-1 weeks later. The revenge for Georgia would linger on their minds in this game, where they came in as one of the heaviest underdogs the soccer world has seen. While Georgia shocked the world with the early lead, Spain would triumph back and earn a spot in the Quarterfinal. The magical run for Georgia would suddenly come to a stop, as Spain would gallop into the last eight.
Spain Escapes Georgia, Looks Forward to Germany in Quarters
Through the first 15 minutes of the match, it was the looming question of “When will Spain score?” With the slightest of counter-attacks, Georgia contained the Spanish pressure beautifully and strung an attack together when it mattered. Georges Mikautadze picked up a ball and he strung a pass to the oncoming Otar Kakabadze, who played a ball into the Napoli starboy, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. While the ball was articulated well into the box, it was deflected off of Robin Le Normand for his own goal, and the ridiculous lead came out of nothing for the Georgians. From a spectator’s view, the constant pressure from Spain would break the Georgian backline sooner than later. Nico Williams would restore parity for the Spanish where he would play a key ball into Rodri, and of course, he made no mistake scoring in yet another big match. The shot from outside the box would rupture the net, getting a well-deserved goal in a match where the upset was on the horizon. The Georgian backline would break, but it would cancel out the own goal in a 1-1 match after the first frame.
Just like the Portugal game flowed, Georgia was fine with taking on the pressure from a better opponent. Spain was doing a wonderful job sticking to their game, and waiting till the pressure would get to Georgia. It was a matter of when that will take place in the second half, where Georgia will try to mimic their exceptional first-half performance. Spain would earn a free kick in a very dangerous position where Lamine Yamal would require a wonderful save by Georgian keeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili. Yamal would then get on the ball after the save, where a stunning cross came back post for Fabian Ruiz who perfected a header into the back of the net. That would give Spain the lead after the long-awaited comeback, six minutes into the half. While the lead was more than comfortable for Spain now, seeing this game out would be a plus in the potential upset match. For the rest of the match, “El Rojo” was still playing on the front foot, looking for a potential third goal to seal the deal against the Georgians. With that being said, a third goal was notched by Nico Williams, who executed a perfect counter-attack from the Spanish. This time, Fabian Ruiz would be awarded with the assist, complimenting the deathly run by Williams. The 3-1 scoreline would put a bow on things in Cologne, as Spain can taste the next round. However, the Spanish were not done as substitute Dani Olmo calmly passed one into the back of the net to really break the hearts of the Georgians. The rain started to pelt down, and the Cinderella run for Georgia would end at the hands of the Spanish, 4-1.
Upcoming Quarterfinal Clash
With Germany winning 2-0 in their Round of 16 match against Denmark, this would see Spain play them in the Quarterfinals next week. This will no doubt be one of the most highly anticipated matches we have seen throughout the competition. With star power on both squads, the winner of this next match will surely become the favorite to win the tournament. The upper hand will be present for Germany, playing in front of a jam-packed home crowd. On the other hand, the quality of Spain’s play will be tough to break down for the Germans. This belter of a game will be on Friday, July 5th at noon EST. Clear your schedules, as the two heavyweights fight.
