EURO 2024 round of 16 fixtures Result: Spain 4-1 Georgia

Spain overcame a courageous Georgian squad and advanced to the UEFA EURO 2024 quarterfinals with a brilliant second-half display.

Early on, Spain’s best play was down the left, largely via the quick-footed Nico Williams and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player to ever compete in a EURO knockout round.

Georgia had positioned themselves in a deep and compact formation, and as Spain got closer, Giorgi Mamardashvili was put to the test by a header that sailed down.

There was one-way traffic until Willy Sagnol’s team came out swinging and counterattacked against the flow of the game. Lasha Dvali’s deep cross from the right flank appeared to be headed for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the red shirts rushed back, but on minute eighteen, Robin Le Normand got touch first and turned into his own net, marking the first goal La Roja had given up at EURO 2024.

Spain was shook. As they attempted to recuperate, they made wild guesses from a distance, but Luis de la Fuente’s men’s intense pressure was also making them vulnerable to a quick Georgia squad that was gaining assurance.

However, Spain ultimately broke through in the 39th minute. Rodri’s low left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area completed a skillfully executed sequence to strike the bottom corner.

Despite a bold Kvaratskhelia lob, Spain forced the tournament newcomers to retreat in the second half after gaining a free kick close beyond the area. Yamal’s first attempt was stopped by Mamardashvili, but Spain regained control, and Yamal found Fabián Ruiz to shoot home this time.

Even while this gallant Georgian team kept making raids, the two-time winners started to moderate the pace. Williams, though, took advantage of additional space and cut in forcefully from the left to coolly curl in La Roja’s third goal. Substitute Dani Olmo then added a fourth goal in the 83rd minute to further accentuate the score.

Important Statistic

In the past eight matches between the two teams, Spain has prevailed seven times. In 2016, Georgia only managed a 1-0 friendly victory.
Spain has only lost two of its past 26 EURO games, excluding penalty shootouts (W17 D7).
With the exception of penalty shootouts, Spain has won six of their past 10 European Championship games (W6 D4).
There has only been one Georgian international match in which they have failed to score.
Of the 26 players in the Spain team, 25 have already played in EURO 2024; the only player who hasn’t yet played is goalkeeper Álex Remiro.
At 21 years and 354 days, Nico Williams has surpassed Ferran Torres’ previous record of 21 years and 119 days set during the 2020 European Championship to become the second-youngest player to score for Spain in a knockout phase match.

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