Key events
28 min: Laporte is at the heart of Spain’s attack at the moment and he has several touches in their latest attempt. It falls to Pedri but his 18-yard effort over the bar.
26 min: It has just started to rain in Cologne, just to add more atmosphere to this thrilling encounter. Kvaratskhelia starts another Georgian attack but Spain make good recovery runs to make sure they block. Spain need to halt this Georgian momentum, it’s all with the underdogs at the moment.
24 min: The goal has gone down as a Le Normand own goal, he has been judged to have had the last touch.
Justin Kavanagh has got involved in our ‘if players were food what would they be?’ chat:
“Surely young Lamine Yamal is a pumpkin, given his nocturnal curfew concerns? As for Georges Mikautadze, he is a very tasty khinkali, a Georgian soup dumpling that is slippery on the outside, but always delivers the meat broth on the inside.”
I like those selections, keep them coming.
22 min: The noise in the stadium has cranked up exponentially. This is Georgia’s first Euros and they are leading one of the favourites for this tournament. Spain are hunting for this equaliser and Fabian has a shot but it is hero Mamardashvili who saves once again.
20 min: Did anyone see this coming? I certainly didn’t. Georgia have all of the momentum and Le Normand has to block another break. The goal was the first Spain have conceded in this tournament.
Georgia broke and they did so quickly. A pin point pass came to Kvaratskhelia and he hit it in off of his thigh. My, oh my. Spain shell shocked.
GOAL! Spain 0-1 Georgia (Kvaratskhelia, 18′)
MY WORD. Georgia have their first attack and score.
16 min: Kochorashvili is back to his feet and okay to continue, a great thing to see. This feels like only a matter of time until Spain score, they could easily be 2-0 up. They come forward again and win yet another corner.
15 min: Fabian has a shot blocked and it eventually falls to Williams who rifles it off but Gvelesiani sees it behind for a corner. Williams the taker once again but Le Normand and Kochorashvili clash heads with the Georgian player staying down, hopefully he is okay.
13 min: Williams takes the corner quickly but it’s cleared well by Georgia, Spain are not letting their foot off of the gas at all.
11 min: Mamardashvili take a bow, what a tournament he is having! Spain win another corner with Williams the taker again, Carvajal gets a great touch to it but the keeper makes a fantastic save. Spain keep coming and win yet another corner.
9 min: Some good defence from Kochorashvili, who sees it out for a corner. Williams takes it and comes in, the delivery good, but Kashia sees it clear. Spain so far have had 81% possession.
8 min:
“After watching England, it’s really odd to see Williams, as a left winger, playing on the left wing and offering width and stretching the play. Very odd,” says Hugh Gordon.
It know, isn’t it strange what players can do when put in their preferred positions. Back to the game and Spain continue to crank up the pressure.
6 min: Yamal has his first spell on the halfway line, he has a good run and it comes to Pedri who has a great shot and it takes a cracking save from Mamardashvili to stop it.
4 min: Spain taking it left and right, they get to 20 yards out and Fabian takes a shot but it’s blocked. The men in red piling on the pressure early doors.
2 min: Spain will have a lot of possession today but it will be about what Georgia can do when they get their spells. It is the favourites who are on the ball in the early spell and they get into the area, Morata hits the deck but nothing is given.
Kick-off! Spain 0-0 Georgia
Here we go then. Who will play Germany in the quarters? We have 90 minutes (or maybe more) to find out. Also I think the commentators are reading my blog as they’ve just used the David v Goliath line I used in my first post.
The players are out on the pitch with the anthems imminent. Can Georgia cause a huge upset? Or will Spain continue their tournament charge? We will soon find out.
In case you missed it, England have beaten Slovakia but by the skin of their teeth. Jude Bellingham scored a late equaliser and captain Harry Kane scored the winner in extra time.
10 minute warning! Get your drinks ready, meals secured and feet up.
Sid Lowe
The first time Lamine Yamal joined the Spain squad, they left his boots behind. His and everyone else’s too. When the selección touched down in Tbilisi to face Georgia in September 2023, the trunk carrying part of their kit was still sitting at Barajas, forcing them to complete the evening session at the Boris Paichadze stadium in trainers, unable to strike the ball. The following night, they scored seven. On his debut, the Barcelona winger got the last of them, aged 16 years and 57 days, and the national team got a new beginning.
Ten months on, Spain face Georgia again, this time for place in the quarter-final of Euro 2024. They are, Lamine Yamal says, the best side here but, he adds, “nothing we have done in the group phase will mean anything if we get knocked out”.
Read the rest of the piece:
There were questions over whether Lamine Yamal would be able to play later kick-offs at the Euros because of Germany’s youth labour laws. Yamal is 16 and the German law says they cannot work beyond 8pm but there is a caveat – athletes can work up until 11pm.
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said: “He shows a maturity inappropriate for his age, but he is in developing both as a footballer and as a person. We are all responsible in that process. We are going to do our job and let him play. Nothing more.
“I don’t know the German legislation on whether Lamine has to be removed at 11pm… We don’t think so.”
So which stars should fans be keeping an eye on in this tie?
For Spain, they have the usual suspects in their ranks who can come up with some magic but the one player who has caught people’s attention is 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
Meanwhile, for Georgia, Georges Mikautadze is a star to keep tabs on. The Metz forward has scored three goals and made an assist so far in the competition. Could be the nation’s hero today?
Whoever win this match will face hosts Germany in the quarter-finals. They beat Denmark in their last 16 tie last night but they were pushed by the Danes. You can catch up with the action from that one here:
I’d love to hear from you. If you have read one of my blogs before you’ll know I love a bit of snack chat. But let’s do something a bit different. What food would your favourite player be? For example would Toni Kroos be a spaghetti bolognese, always dependable but tasty? Let me know via email or X (@rendellx).
As we are in knockout football territory there is a possibility of the match heading to penalties if it remains a draw after extra time. But how do Spain and Georgia fair in penalties? We have a guide that tells you everything you need to know:
Georgia have become neutral fans’ team and the second team for supporters who still have their nations in the competition. “I think first of all we have done that because of our performances, our game, but the most important thing that people see is that we are a small country, this is our first time here and we were not afraid of it,” says entre-back Luka Lochoshvili.
“We showed everybody that we can play against all the teams. We keep fighting on the pitch until the end. The fans see the body language of our players in our games, this aggressiveness.”
In the England game, Slovakia were leading until two minutes to go in normal time. Jude Bellingham scored an equaliser and just 52 seconds into extra time Harry Kane has put them ahead. To follow it, you can click here:
So changes, apologies just wanted to get the news to you as soon as possible. Spain have made a raft of changes – 10 to be precise – with Aymeri Laporte the only survivor from their final group game against Albania. Admittedly, Spain may have been resting a few stars as they had already qualified for the knockouts.
Georgia, meanwhile, have kept the same starting line-up as the team who beat Portugal. And who would?
Georgia (5-3-2): Mamardashvili; Kakabadze, Gvelesiani, Kashia, Dvali, Lochoshvili; Chakvetadze, Kiteishvili, Kochorashvili; Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia. Subs: Loria, Kvirkvelia, Zivzivadze, Davitashvili, Kvilitaia, Gugeshashvili, Gocholeishvili, Kvekveskiri, Altunashvili, Shengelia, Tsitaishvili, Lobjanidze, Tabidze, Sigua.
The team news is in. Spain is below, Georgia incoming with news of changes imminent.
Spain: Unai Simón (GK), Carvajal, Le Normand, Morata (C), Fabián Ruiz, Laporte, Rodri, Williams, Yamal, Pedri, Cucurella.
Jonathan Wilson
Spain v Georgia prediction
Spain have probably been the best team of the tournament so far, Georgia the most fun. There was scepticism about Luis de la Fuente when he was appointed Spain manager but he seems to have achieved the remarkable feat of changing a football culture. Since winning the Euros in 2012, their third tournament in a row, Spanish football has remained technically brilliant, but too often their possession game seemed a little purposeless. In this tournament, though, thanks largely to the two wingers, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, they have been much more direct and, seemingly, much more dangerous – although they did somehow only beat Italy 1-0 despite overwhelming domination.
But, as they showed in the group stage, Georgia can pose a threat, and will relish the chance to attack the space behind Spain through the quick and skilful forwards Georges Mikautadze and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. If they are to cause a shock, though, they may need another exceptional performance from their goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Verdict Thrilling Spain win
The England game continues with Gareth Southgate’s side currently 1-0 down to Slovakia. It has been a lacklustre performance from England but can they claw it back? Rob Smyth is taking you through that one here:
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the fourth last 16 match of the Euros. Spain take on Georgia in what feels like a David v Goliath match.
Spain have been one of the most impressive sides in the competition so far and have young talent showcasing what they can do. This is not to say Georgia haven’t been impressive, they have and have become many fans’ second team, but it would be a huge shock if Georgia got the better of Spain today.
But everyone knows the outcome of David v Goliath. The favourites are capable of losing and who better to do so than a nation riding the wave of their success. This is the first-ever European Championships Georgia have played in.
Their group stage was impressive for their first in the competition. The start wasn’t what they would have wanted with a 3-1 loss to Turkey but they followed it up with a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic and a phenomenal 2-0 win over Portugal.
If they can down Portugal, they can do the same to Spain. But Spain are a slightly different beast, if both teams are on it today we are in for a tasty battle. We’ll take a look at the build-up to the match with manager insight next before team news, expected in the next half an hour.