Spain qualified by beating Georgia (4-1) on Sunday evening in Cologne to meet Germany in the quarter-finals.
TOPS
Fabian Ruiz, the strong man of La Roja
A goal, an assist and a new masterclass. This is how we can sum up the performance of the Spanish midfielder. He tried a lot in the first half, especially with shots from afar, not always well-judged. But the intention was there. The PSG player increased his intensity to place himself, at the start of the second half, in the opponent’s area. First opportunity with a header, and it hit the mark. A second goal to launch Spain on the road to success. What can we say, then, about this ball catch and this crossbar for the third Spanish goal scored by Nico Williams. He proved that he was the real strong man of this Roja.
Yamal’s Awakening
Unlike his teammates Pedri, Williams or Ruiz, the young 16-year-old from Barcelona did not leave his mark on the first half. But he was able to come back stronger and launch the hostilities of the second period. After having collected a very dangerous free kick, he was able to give, a few seconds later, a delicious ball on the head of Fabian Ruiz. Yamal has that “thing”, that of the great player who knows how to wake up when necessary. Invisible at first, then relaunching a selection that had been lacking in efficiency until then. At the same time, he registered his second assist in this Euro 2024, at only 16 years old. Yes, yes, he is still 16 years old.
Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze against the world
After having martyred Portugal, the two Georgian stars continued to justify their status in a Georgian selection that depends only on them. After a difficult first fifteen minutes, the Ligue 1 player decided to take matters into his own hands to try to relieve his teammates, who were trying to repel the ever-increasing Spanish waves. The Messin kept the ball, served his right-back Kakabadze for a cross towards “Kvara”. The Neapolitan, expected at the reception, forced Le Normand to deceive his own goalkeeper (15th), by putting pressure on him. The rest of the match, the two players tried a lot, but they could do nothing in the face of the opponent’s superiority.
Read alsoEuro 2024: in demonstration, Spain eliminates Georgia and qualifies for the quarter-finals
FLOPS
Georgia ran out of ideas
The two stars, Mamardashvili and that’s it. When the two offensive stars began to tire around the hour mark, things had to change for Willy Sagnol. But the French coach lacked solutions to try to counter the overwhelming domination of Spain. He tried to launch the Bordeaux player Davitashvili, but he could not contribute anything against a Spain which gained confidence as the match progressed. Trailing after returning from the locker room, the Crusaders were unable to take control of the game to try to equalize and ended up leaving space for Spain who widened the gap.
A heartbreaking end to the match
After such a start to the match by Sagnol’s men – where they took the lead thanks to Le Normand’s own goal – the end of the match was difficult. Georgia’s beautiful story is now over. The Crusaders completely collapsed physically and mentally by letting La Roja roll on in this end of the match (4-1). Fabian Ruiz’s teammates even “bit” in this end of the match and the score could have been heavier. We hope to see this Georgia again soon, because it has a lot of room for improvement and a first participation in the World Cup to go for.
