Georgian national team: call-up, possible starting lineup and Georgian stars

The star of Naples, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and the Valencia goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, They will be great Georgia references for European Cup, the first tournament of nations to be played by a Caucasian team in its more than 30-year history. The Georgians qualified for the tournament by eliminating Greece in the playoffs after a thrilling penalty shootout in which the Valencian goalkeeper was decisive. The Levante midfielder will also be present at this Euro, Giorgi Kochorashvili, important in the scheme of Willy Sagnol.

Kvaratskhleia He will be accompanied above by his best partner in attack, Georges Mikautadzea forward who just exploded into the season Metz French Ligue 1 (13 goals in 20 games). Another outstanding footballer is the midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze, English Watford footballer. Only two of the 26 players called up by Sagnol play for teams in the Georgian league, one from Dinamo Tbilisi (Loria, 38 years old) and another from Dinamo Batumi (Tsitaishvili).

Georgia entrusts itself to Germany in its great figure: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The talented winger, trained at the Dinamo Tbilisi youth academy, is the great star of the Georgian national team and has become a real figure in Naples, who signed him from Dinamo Batumi for 13.3 kilos, who was almost an unknown player in the world. At 23 years old, ‘Kvaradona’ He is an international star who has attracted the interest of big teams in Europe.

Another of the outstanding players of the Caucasian team is Giorgi Mamardashvili. Between the siren songs of English and German football, the Georgian has emerged as one of the best goalkeepers on the European scene and, after three clean campaigns in Valenciahas a great prize this summer in the form of European Cup.

Willy Sagnol He is the coach of Georgia. The French coach (47 years old), a historic former player of Bayern Munich, hopes not to become a ‘Cinderella’ in his return to Germany, a country he knew well. Since he took the reins of Georgia As of February 15, 2021, the Frenchman has directed 34 international matches between officials and friends, with a balance of 17 wins, 5 draws and 12 losses. Saint-Étienne’s longest spell as a coach took place in Bordeaux Girondins (88 matches).

His ‘eleven types’ consisted of Mamardashvili; Kverkvelia, Káshia, Dvali; Kakabazce, Kochorashvili, Kiteishvili, Shengelia, Chakvetadze; Kavaratskhelia and Mikautadze. Sagnol He has been using different tactical variants since he was in charge of the Georgian team. He 3-4-3 This is the system most often used by the French coach, although another of his favorite techniques is the 3-5-2, which he used in the Euro playoff games against Luxembourg and Greece. The French coach also sometimes opts for a 4-2-3-1.

Georgia roster for Euro 2024

GOALKEEPERS
1. Giorgi Loria (38 years old / Dynamo Tbilisi)
12. Luka Gugeshashvili (25 years old / Zira)
25. Giorgi Mamardashvili (23 years old / Valencia)

DEFENSES
2. Otar Kakabadze (28 years old / KS Krakow)
3. Lasha Dvali (29 years old / APOEL Nicosia)
4. Guram Kashia (36 years old / Slovan Bratislava)
5. Solomon Kverkvelia (32 years old / Al Okhdood)
13. Giorgi Gocholeishvili (23 years old / Shakthar Donetsk)
14. Luka Lochoshvili (26 years old / Cremonese)
15. Giorgi Gvelesiani (33 years old / Persepolis Tehran)
24. Jemal Tabidze (28 years old / Panaitolikos)

MIDFIELDERS
6. Giorgi Kochorashvili (24 years old / Levante)
9. Zuriko Davitashvili (23 years old / Girondins Bordeaux)
10. Giorgi Chakvetadze (24 years old / Watford)
16. Nika Kvekveskiri (32 years old / Lech Poznan)
17. Otar Kiteishvili (28 years old / Sturm Graz)
18. Sandro Altunashvili (27 years old / Wolfswerger)
19. Levan Shengelia (28 years old / Panaitolikos)
20. Anzor Mekvabishvili (23 years old / Craiova University)
21. Giorgi Tsitaishvili (23 years old / Dinamo Batumi)
23. Saba Lobjanidze (29 years old / Atlanta United)
26. Gabriel Sigua (18 years old / Basel)

FORWARDS
7. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (23 years old / Naples)
8. Budu Zivzivadze (30 years old / Karlsruhe)
11. Giorgi Kvilitaia (30 years old / APOEL Nicosia)
22. Georges Mikautadze (23 years old / Metz)

COACH
Willy Sagnol (FRA)