UEFA Euro 2024: Key takeaways as Spain make it through to the quarter final, while brave Georgians exit with pride

UEFA Euro 2024: Key takeaways as Spain make it through to the quarter final, while brave Georgians exit with pride

New Delhi: A fantastic game of football where the certain favourites were able to shake the giantkillers, as Spain deafeated a dangerous Georgian side who certainly didn’t make their job easy causing a lot of problems for the Spanish defence. However, it was a heartbreaking night for the Georgians, but take nothing away from the debutants as they were brave against one of the trickiest teams in Europe. The scoreline certainly doesn’t justify Georgia’s performance as Spain were just too good at the end of the game winning it 4-1.

The Spanish did their job quite well as they didn’t panic after going behind in the first half. It was Rodri who scored a beautiful goal from outside the box to level the scoreline in the 39th minute of the game. However, in the second half, Spain showed no mercy as Fabian Ruiz gave them the lead in the 51st minute, who scored his second of the campaign. Then it was Nico Williams who finally scored his first ever Euro championship goal for Spain after a blistering run before putting the ball past impressive Mamardashivli to make it 3-1. Olmo further added to Georgia’s misery as he scored the fourth goal and opened his account for this Euro campaign.

Shaky Spanish defence during knockouts

COLOGNE, GERMANY – JUNE 30: Robin Le Normand of Spain in action during the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between Spain and Georgia at Cologne Stadium (RheinEnergieStadion) on June 30, 2024 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Oguz Yeter/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Spanish were looking to play a high defensive line that opened up a lot of space for the pacy Georgian attackers, Kvaratskhelia and Makautadze. Georgia have looked like a team that likes to attack on the counter and their style of play gives their strikers the perfect opportunity and the space to run into and do something with the ball in the opposition half the moment it breaks on the counter. Spain playing a high defensive line gives them the perfect opportunity to take their chances the moment Georgian defence clears the ball from their end.

This is exactly what happened when Spain conceded the first goal where the defence got caught playing high up the pitch and while running back to defend the counter, Georgia were left with a lot of open space. Kakabadze was able to run into the space and play in the perfect cross to find his team mate inside the Spanish box where it was Le Normand instead, who put the ball into his own net. There were certain other moments where the defensive line looked shaky, playing high line.

Spain face Germany at quarters

AL KHOR, QATAR – NOVEMBER 27: Alvaro Morata of Spain scores their team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Spain and Germany at Al Bayt Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Two of the best sides in this edition of Euros come face to face as Spain will be up agaisnt the hosts Germany. Both the teams have remained unbeaten and one of these giants will get eliminated and who knows, the one that progresses, may end up winning this years UEFA Euro cup. This is a highly anticipated match where both the teams will be hungry to win and progress through to the next stage of UEFA Euro championship. Both the teams have shown some quality attacking play throughout the campaign, and their clash is going to be a classic that’s for sure!

Spain have astonishingly scored a total of nine goals until now, while the Germans have already scored 11, most by any nation in this Euro campaign as It will be interesting to see the high intensity battles as these two face each other.

An unforgettable journey for Georgia

30 June 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: Soccer, UEFA Euro 2024, European Championship, Spain – Georgia, final round, round of 16, Cologne Stadium, Georgia’s Khvisha Kvarachelia (l) and Georgia’s Suriko Davitashvili walk across the pitch disappointed after the match. Photo: Marius Becker/dpa (Photo by Marius Becker/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A team that has won hearts all around the globe, Georgia were brave and are certainly a team that can slay the giants. Their Euro journey came to an end after the defeat but as mentioned earlier, the scoreline certainly doesn’t justify their performance as they looked to threaten throughout the game. Thanks to their qualification, fans got to witness some amazingly talented players as the entire team showed great spirit throughout the campaign.

Even against Spain, their attacking play was on top as they didn’t let the Spanish defence breathe. Besides, it was their captain, the 37-year-old Guram Kashia who made some outstanding blocks to keep the Spanish from scoring in the first half. Besides, their pacy attack of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Makautadze looked to threaten throughout the game. Overall it was a great performance by the Georgian side who plan to improve on their performance in the next Euro campaign.

 An exceptional performance by Spain who progress through to the Quarter final while Georgia keep their chins up as their wonderful Euro journey ends. Here are the key takeaways from the match  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today