Spain vs Georgia live updates (2024)

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Left-back Alejandro Grimaldo was brought into the Spain starting XI for their group-stage victory against Albania and faced the media on Friday.

He was asked about Spain going from outsiders for Euro 2024 to being the outright favourites.

"A month ago, we hardly had a chance, people and the press said. Now we're favourites. This changes quickly," he responded with a smile. "Being favourites doesn't help us at all, we don't want that pressure.

"We've always said we came here to win the Euros and we still have that mentality but we know we have to proceed game-by-game, step-by-step, and for sure big happiness will come."

No prizes for guessing this one! Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the undoubted star of the show.

In his central role, there’s less space and fewer opportunities to isolate defenders in one-on-one situations, but his dribbling ability and movement inside the penalty area are difference-makers for this Georgia side.

Kvaratskhelia’s five goals and three assists helped Georgia top their group in the 2022-23 Nations League, giving them a place in the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs that earned them a spot at the tournament. Only 10 goals separate him from Georgia’s all-time top scorer, Shota Arveladze (26 goals in 61 caps), even though the Napoli winger has played 28 games fewer.

The last 12 months will feature prominently in Georgia’s history books after they recorded their biggest win (8-0 vs Thailand) and biggest defeat (7-1 vs Spain), and reached their first international tournament under the guidance of former France international Willy Sagnol.

Playing out of a 3-5-2, Georgia focus on attacking through their wing-backs and finding Giorgi Chakvetadze between the lines. Sagnol’s team switches the ball from one side to the other until they can find one of the wing-backs in an advantageous situation.

In Euro 2024 qualifiers, Georgia attempted the most switches of play per game (8.1) — defined by Opta as any pass that travels at least 60 per cent of the width of the pitch.

If you haven’t watched Spain for a while and have only a basic idea about how they might play, you are still probably on the right track.

Under head coach Luis de la Fuente, Spain are still looking to dominate possession in a 4-3-3 shape on the ball with a focus on combinations down the flanks between the winger, the full-back and the No 8.

The prominence of Spain’s wingers, such as Lamine Yamal, has also led to more crosses into the penalty area. In Euro 2024 qualifying matches, De la Fuente’s side had the fourth-most crosses per game (26.3) of the 53 nations competing for a place in the final tournament.

This approach tallies well with the head coach’s choices for the striker position. Morata is strong in the air and Joselu has been making a positive impact off the bench, too, scoring four goals from his nine substitute appearances.

On top of that, Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz or whoever is playing as a No 8 constantly makes off-ball runs into the box to provide the winger or the full-back with multiple options.

Another feature of Spain’s game in possession is Morata’s tendency to drop and offer himself as a passing option in the middle of the pitch, which makes him a viable option as a false nine if he is needed to play that role.

Off the ball, Spain defend in a 4-4-2 — like the majority of the top football teams in the world — with one of the central midfielders moving up next to Morata or Joselu. When they lose possession, they focus on winning the ball back quickly to limit the opponent’s transitions.

Spain have had a tough time in major tournaments since their unprecedented Euro-World Cup-Euro treble of trophies from 2008 to 2012. In four of the five tournaments since 2012, they have failed to win a single knockout game:

• 2014 World Cup – Failed to advance from group stage, finishing behind Netherlands and Chile
• Euro 2016 – Lost to Italy in round of 16
• 2018 World Cup – Lost to Russia on penalties in round of 16
• 2022 World Cup – Lost to Morocco on penalties in round of 16

The exception to this trend was Euro 2020, a rollercoaster ride which saw Spain reach the semi-finals. In the round of 16 against Croatia, they surrendered a two-goal lead in the final minutes of normal time but recovered to win 5-3 after extra time. Their quarter-final victory over Switzerland was no less tense, going to penalties after a 1-1 draw. But Spain's luck ran out against Italy in the semi-finals as they lost on penalties after another 1-1 draw.

The fact that penalty shootouts determined the outcome of each of their past three tournaments demonstrates how the finest of margins separate success and failure in knockout football.

Five-time Bundesliga winner Willy Sagnol has masterfully led Georgia to the last 16 and he could hardly hide his smile as he spoke after the win against Portugal.

"It's still difficult to realise what we have done," he said on Wednesday. "It will probably happen when we will lose, and when we will go back to our homes and on holidays.

"Today I don't have a lot of words so I will try to stay basic and say that I'm so proud of the players because what an image they have shown of Georgia today... I feel very proud to be their manager."

Ranked 75th in the world by FIFA, Georgia are the lowest-ranked team at Euro 2024. They had no business making their way out of Group F, and yet that is exactly what they did.

Victory against Portugal in their final group game was, by far, the greatest win in their history and ensured that their first ever major tournament would not end after three matches.

Despite that group-stage record, Spain manager Luis De La Fuente is under no illusions over the threat posed by today's opponents.

"We have maximum respect for them. They are a team that is having a great tournament, that has defeated Portugal; and that, due to the experience we have, we have seen that they have been improving and progressing in their performance," he told Spain's official media channel.

"We will have to give our best version to have a chance of going through. We have seen that they have changed the system somewhat, but not the idea they have, with players who come out very quickly in transitions.

"We will have to be very careful. The experience of having played matches and the security of having qualified, with the motivation that comes from beating Portugal, make them more dangerous."

Spain were considered among the best teams heading into Euro 2024, but not quite as one of the favourites.

But their imperious group-stage performances have cemented them as arguably the standalone favourites. Spain were the only side to take maximum points from the group stage as they won all three matches; against Croatia, Italy and Albania.

Their reward: A place on the same side of the knockouts as Germany, France and Portugal.

Would it really be a major tournament without some ranking and rating along the way?

We brought you kits and managers (when they were players) before the tournament and, now, the anthems. Jacob Whitehead was the man trusted to do it and there are very few, if any, that I disagree with him on.

Check out his ratings below — and listen to the anthems along the way.

And the other three groups finished like this:

Group D

1. Austria – 6 PTS
2. France – 5 PTS
3. Netherlands – 4 PTS
4. Poland – 1 PTS

Group E

1. Romania – 4 PTS
2. Belgium – 4 PTS
3. Slovakia – 4 PTS
4. Ukraine – 4 PTS

Group F

1. Portugal – 6 PTS
2. Turkey – 6 PTS
3. Georgia – 4 PTS
4. Czech Republic – 1 PTS

With the knockouts in full swing, the group stage will feel like a forgotten memory for some fans.

If you are one of those fans, here is a refresher.

Group A

1. Germany – 7 PTS
2. Switzerland – 6 PTS
3. Hungary – 3 PTS
4. Scotland – 1 PTS

Group B

1. Spain – 9 PTS
2. Italy - 4 PTS
3. Croatia – 2 PTS
4. Albania – 1 PTS

Group C

1. England – 5 PTS
2. Denmark – 4 PTS
3. Slovenia – 4 PTS
4. Serbia – 2 PTS

We lost two teams at Euro 2024 yesterday and we will lose another two today.

On paper, today's games look easy to predict but the allure of major tournament football is always its unpredictability.

Today's line-up looks like this:

• England vs Slovakia – 6pm local time / 5pm BST / 12pm ET / 9am PT
• Spain vs Georgia – 9pm local time / 8pm BST / 3pm ET / 12pm PT

This is something truly special. Our correspondents and data experts here at The Athletic have pulled together our Euro 2024 edition of The Radar.

It’s a database of the 50 players to watch at this summer’s tournament, with at least one representative from each of the 24 nations competing in Germany.

Some of those were eliminated in the group stage, but there are still plenty of active players in there.

There are established stars and rising talents, bespoke data visualisation for every player and magnificent insight from our writers.

So go give it a visit, have a play and see what you discover.

Goalkeepers: Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag).

Defenders: Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava), Otar Kakabadze (Krakow), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al Okhdood), Lasha Dvali (APOEL), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis).

Midfielders: Gabriel Sigua (Basel), Nika Kvekverskiri (Lech Poznan), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Saba Lobzhanidze (Atlanta United), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Levan Shengelia (Panetlikos), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante), Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger).

Forwards: Giorgi Kvilitaia (APOEL), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruher), Georges Mikautadze (Metz).

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal, on loan from Brentford), Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad).

Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Aymeric Laporte (Al Nassr), Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Nacho (Real Madrid), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea).

Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Fabian Ruiz (PSG), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Alex Baena (Villarreal), Fermin Lopez (Barcelona), Pedri (Barcelona).

Forwards: Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Joselu (Real Madrid), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ayoze Perez (Real Betis), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao).

• Kick-off time: 9pm local time / 8pm BST / 3pm ET / 12pm PT
• TV/stream info: ITV (UK), Fox (US)
• Team news: Expected around an hour before kick-off

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RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne

Capacity: 43,000

The second smallest stadium being used at Euro 2024 is the host for this one, but don't let fool you into thinking the atmosphere will be anything less than electric.

It has been a cauldron of noise in the four matches it has hosted at the tournament so far (below). Unfortunately, this is the last time it will be used at Euro 2024.

• Hungary 1-3 Switzerland
• Scotland 1-1 Switzerland
• Belgium 2-0 Romania
• England 0-0 Slovenia

Here are your viewing options for Spain vs Georgia:

• UK: ITV
• US: Fox
• Canada: TSN
• Georgia: 1TV
• Spain: RTVE