The Valencian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili he dressed as a hero today in the penalty shootout against Greece and the Georgian team qualified for its first European Championship after a match that ended goalless after 120 minutes of play.
The Georgians, led by the French Willy Sangol, they made history since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 they have not played a tournament of nations.
Mamardashvili saved the second penalty of the batch, released by Boots Then, Mikautadze shot wide the third penalty for the Georgians, but Giakoumakis He did the same in the bedroom.
The midfielder of Lech Poznan, Nika Kvekveskiriscored the decisive penalty and unleashed joy on the 55,000 spectators who attended the match at the Dinamo Arena stadium in Tbilisi.
The Greek team, led by the Uruguayan Gustavo Poyetmore deserving, as he controls the ball, although he lacks ambition and more dynamite in attack.
Greece, who surprisingly won the European Championship 20 years agohas not played in that tournament since 2012, to which we must add that he missed the last two World Cups.
The Hellenes, using their greater experience, focused from the first minute on scoring heavily on the Naples star, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who missed the victory against Luxembourg (2-0) due to the accumulation of cards.
The Greeks called for a penalty in the 36th minute, but the referee did not consider that there had been contact with a split ball.
He had the best chance of the first half on the edge of the half hour with his boots Chakvetadze from a direct free kick, as the ball was cleared with the fingers of the Greek Vlachodimos he entered
This way, the two teams went into half-time goalless and everything would be decided in the second half.
The referee, the Pole Szymon Marciniakwho directed the final of the last World Cup in Qatar, resolved a dispute that broke out when the players headed to the locker room tunnel with two red cards for the players on the bench.
Both teams took the field in the second half unchanged, though Poet decided to move the shaker on the quarter hour, introducing himself Rota and Konstantalias.
Greece dominated the ball at will, although did not create good scoring opportunities against the Valencian team. Mamardashvili. Meanwhile, the Georgians are clearly betting on the counterattack.
With fifteen minutes left, Sagnol lost patience and replaced the hero of the fight against Luxembourg, Zivzivadzeof the Metz striker, Mikautadzein search of a miracle.
The 90 minutes ended goalless and the teams were condemned to a hellish extra time, with the only local advantage being that the Greeks already had five yellow cards.
Shengelia leaves injured before the final whistle, while Poet sent to the bench Ioannidis, which was unsuccessful in front of goal. The best chance was seen in extra time.
Kvaratskhelia He seemed embarrassed to want to control the game in extra time, but the Greeks came closest to scoring.
Fortunately, Mamardashvili spectacularly cleared a poisoned shot from Boots and then he saw how the headbutt of Mavropanos At the exit of a corner he was spat over the crossbar.
The Georgians also scored on a quick counterattack in the 105th minute, but Davitashvili’s shot was saved at the last moment by an excellent Vlachodimos.
ten minutes left, Kvaratskhelia He had said enough and had to be replaced with muscle problems, but the locals didn’t give up.
Vlachodimos He had to save his team again against Tsitaishvili after a fantastic game from within Dinamo Batumi.
The Penalties decide who wins the ticket for Germany. Eleven meters smiled on the Georgians (4-2).
The match was watched by thousands of Georgian fans on giant screens installed by the authorities in the main cities of the Caucasian nation.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
