Spain – Georgia: Spanish Armada Gun Down Gallivanting Georgians (4-1)

Georgia have crushed all expectations, beating one of Europe’s most talented squads on the way to the Round of 16. However, their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula ran aground against the most convincing camp of the EUROs. By the end of the ninety minutes, Spain had sailed their way past their latest test with eyes on the prize— and an almighty clash in the quarter-final.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

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Underdogs have stirred up the spirits of observers at the EUROs— and maybe the greatest story is of Georgia. The nation navigated a way into the tournament through a playoff penalty shootout success over Greece. The bright lights from a first appearance on the international platform have not been too harsh. An upset against Portugal totted up their tally to four points and booked a place in the Round of 16. Now, what lay before them was an adversary that had already alerted the levels of Europe’s elite.

Spanish showings signal no mercy. The ‘Group of Death’ determined their destiny within 180 minutes. Croatia and Italy fell by the wayside, and the first position practically was a certainty. A second string selection still strangled the Albanians for long stretches of their showing as the only outfit from the 24 nations to claim the full complement of nine points. Even though pretty performances do not dictate a right to reward as ultimate victors, their power and punch point out a path to clear their final furlong.

Luis de la Fuente fielded his favorite eleven. Aymeric Laporte stayed at the center of the defense as he continues to earn more minutes in the aftermath of a muscle injury. Robin Le Normand joined him, while Marc Cucurella and Dani Carvajal completed the composition of the back four. Rodri rested at the base of midfield. Fábian Ruiz and Pedri played in the two other spots in the middle of the park. Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, two youthful stars of the tournament, flanked Álvaro Morata.

Georgia manager, Willy Sagnol, saw no reason to rotate the lineup that left a mark on history. Giorgi Mamardashvili, the man mountain between the posts, guarded their net. Guram Kashia sat at the heart of the back five, acting as the captain. Giorgi Kochorashvili, Otar Kiteishvili, and Giorgi Chakvetadze tried to shore up the middle of the park. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the star in this squad, but Georges Mikautadze has earned plaudits. He was the top scorer of the EUROs after the group stage phase.


The debutants dream on

For the first time, Spain could expect to encounter their kryptonite: a stubborn low block. Croatia and Italy had more actively partaken in a battle for the ball, while Albania allowed too much room for even La Roja’s replacements to control affairs for the first half of their contest. On the other hand, the Georgians grounded their success on a standard set of tools for an underdog. Their 5-3-2 system is a solid structure to stand compactly in the center of the field with the fighting spirit of their defenders.


8th minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Laporte carried the ball forwards to engage the midfield and close the passing distances while Cucurella pushed through the inside channel from an inverted position. Fábian ran into the box, but did not stay stuck in the last line, so he is still available for a lateral pass from Williams. Meanwhile, Pedri realizes, due to the midfield’s attention on Fábian, that he can overload the left, Spain play out the 4-on-3 numerical superiority and go for a byline cutback.


The 5-3-2 block, with three central midfielders and three central defenders, can close out the center effectively. But access to wider zones of the field is not so easily forthcoming. And it is here that the Spanish have successfully set out new solutions. Especially on the left wing, it was obvious to see how they could overload the outside. Laporte would wander 10 to 15 yards over the halfway line, while Cucurella and Williams worked as a pair to pull open gaps on the inside of Otar Kakabadze.

And then came the unexpected. Spanish pressure forced a misplaced pass into the path of Rodri. He directed the loose ball with his head towards Pedri, but the midfielder could not hook it under his spell. Luka Lochoshvili caught Carvajal out of position, picking out Kvaratskhelia on the left wing. He wriggled around the retreating right back, and Mikautadze switched sides to Kakabadze. The wing-back’s wicked cross clipped the hip of Le Normand and flew beyond Unai Simón into the net.



Spain navigate the game state

The goal rocked the rhythm of the Spanish. Georgia’s central defenders could not always coordinate who should shift out behind the wing-backs to block the rooms on the wings. So, the three central midfielders, who had to cover the width of the pitch, also frequently fell back into the defensive chain against the wing attacks. Smart circulation can force midfields to keep shifting from flank to flank until the wingers are alone in 1 on 1 situations, but these phases were less common after the own goal.

The Georgians could exploit impatience to take space on the counter through dribbles from their two forwards. Spain were more likely to try and maximize their wingers’ form than look for the obvious answer on the other side of the field. Yet, this inclination illustrated another type of hole to attack.


22nd minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Movement from Fábian filled space behind Lochoshvili and Kochorashvili. Dvali was doubtful of moving out to the wing because Pedri kept creeping higher. So, Kiteishvili dropped into the defensive chain to shadow Fábian, and Carvajal can access a square pass to Rodri. As Kiteishvili pushes out, Fábian is free to receive the ball and strike at the goal.


One of the many Spanish stylistic devices is the use of cutbacks. Pedri positioned himself in holes that reflected an understanding of space with Fábian. While Morata occupied two of the central defenders, one of the eights could creep onto the edge of the box. If the two forwards did not follow Rodri all the way backward, he, too, could shoot. And his perfect placement leveled the score in the 39th minute.

At the start of the second half, Yamal yearned the spotlight and showed sharp feet for the umpteenth time. Carvajal came forward on the overlap; the winger cut inside Chakvetadze. He searched for a one-two combination with Pedri to arrive at a shooting angle. Kashia clattered him, conceding a free kick. Yamal stepped up, forcing Mamardashvili to parry, but the goalkeeper could do nothing about his signature far post delivery to Fábian. The target was gaping for the midfielder to hit with a header.


A pulsating pace overwhelms Georgia

Georgian legs grew weary. Their buildup baited Spain up the field without the security of safe ball possession, and the two forwards could not carry the load of transitions alone. De la Fuente could also call on the services of substitutes of a high caliber. Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino, and Mikel Oyarzabal all entered the fray. It was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened once and for all.


A valiant but ultimately futile fight from the Georgians


Mikautadze and Kvaratskhelia tried to tunnel their way through a sea of red shirts on the break, but Fábian flicked the ball around the back of his body to protect possession before looking deep for an outlet. Oyarzabal and the fleet footed Williams waited on the wing. Williams would receive a lobbed pass, drawing out Giorgi Gvelesiani with him. The defender dived in for a tackle as Williams wound down the speed of his dribble and then exploded into life, skipping free to fire into the roof of the net.

The two wingers continued to torment in highly dynamic contexts. Yamal carried inside off the line, looking for rapid-fire ‘give and go’ combinations to break in behind the defense. The most successful attempt provoked an own goal, but he was offside upon the reception of the final through ball. Álex Grimaldo replaced Cucurella on the left wing, where Olmo and Williams could connect to get into the space between the two stretched chains. Above all, both had a right to dribble to their heart’s content.


77th minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Once Grimaldo swapped places with Cucurella, Fábian began dropping deeper to the left of Rodri so Grimaldo could hold the outside on the overlap. The midfielder attracts pressure from Kvaratskhelia, cuts to the outside and opens the space between Kochorashvili and Sandro Altunashvili. Gvelesiani is too far from Olmo to tackle the attacking midfielder, who can turn and feed Williams. He breaks inside Kashia and assists Olmo to strike.


Spain refused to relent on the press, adding to their tally. In the 83rd minute, Le Normand and Merino won headers to turn a punted long ball from the Georgians into an opening on the edge of the penalty area. Lasha Dvali lashed a tired clearance into Olmo and Merino pounced, ushering the ball into the path of Oyarzabal. The forward found Olmo, whose sublime control carved apart the defense. His first touch tapped the ball around Dvali, robbing him of momentum, and setting a strike low into the net.


Takeaways

Georgia’s joust at the EUROs is over. Though their tactics troubled briefly, Spanish solutions were constantly available, and the drainage of energy proved to be decisive in the final phase. Indeed, the rout could have produced an even more empathic scoreline with better shooting boots from their opponents, but one should praise the outsiders for the joy and passion they brought to the tournament. Thanks in no small part to their terrific efforts, football in Eastern Europe looks to be in good hands.

Spain stood up to the test and stood out from the rest of the competitors once more. Even if their rhythm ruptured after the first goal, the basic foundations of speed, technical sharpness, and care continued to create a cycle of control that culminated in this thrashing. It is a display that brought into question some individual defects of their players at both ends of the field, but the collective can call on the correct weapons to iron out these weaknesses. One expects they will grant Germany no respite.



We decided to make all of our EURO 2024 articles free to read. If you want to support our work, consider taking a subscription.

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Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere (22) is an ardent Arsenal fan. He now writes as a journalist for several sites but his first love will always be BTP. [ View all posts ]

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