At last. She has cost. Six days after beating Italy, Spain already knows its rival in the round of 16. It will be Georgia, who has slipped into the best third place after winning 2-0 against a Portugal full of substitutes… Their names are scary, because they are unknown, but it would be better to take them seriously.
When you see your neighbor’s beard peeling…
Put yours to soak. That’s what the saying goes, at least. Georgia is not the Brazil of ’70, we would all have agreed to meet them in the second round, but Spain should not underestimate it either. The fact that Portugal played with its ‘B’ team does not help gauge its level either, but Willy Sagnol’s pupils – yes, the former Bayern winger – showed that They are, above all, a TEAM made up of 11 warriors. Even Kvaratskhelia rolls up his sleeves to go down to defend. They know their virtues and their limitations. They defend in a low block and seek to go out quickly on the counterattack, with few touches. They all seem better together. It’s hard to stay with one: Chakvetadze, Kochorashvili, Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze, Mamardashvili… They all completed a great game.
Well, maybe Mikautadze is the ‘MVP’ of the Euro…
It is difficult to write his name, although it is not the most complicated, but still Georges Mikautadze is the ‘MVP’ (of what we have) of the Euro Cup. The Metz attacker scored in the defeat against Turkey (3-1), in the draw against the Czech Republic (1-1) and in the victory over Portugal. Not only that: he assisted Kvaratskhelia to make it 1-0. In total, three goals and one assist for him. No other forward has produced as many goals (4). It didn’t work out at Ajax, but, for some reason, he was the top scorer in Ligue 2 in 2022-23 with 23 goals. Spain will have to tie him short.
Another game more beautiful than good from Joao Félix
Joao Félix does not find his place in the world of football: neither in Atlético, nor in Chelsea, nor in Barcelona… nor in Portugal. He had not made his debut in the Euro, but against Georgia he once again saw the ‘train’ pass by. He played as a starter, left a couple of details in the form of a pipe, a shot that grazed the post… Details without more, in short. Another more beautiful than good match for the collection. Maybe what was best for him was to return to Benfica and rediscover himself.
‘Kvaradona’ didn’t even give us time to sit down
The last chords of the hymns were still playing… when Georgia already won 1-0. A serious loss of António Silva – Pepe is still playing for a reason at 41 years old – became a perfect counter. Mikautadze recovered and launched Kvaratskhelia into the race for him to mark his first goal in the Euro Cup at 92 seconds! of party. The ‘Napoli’ fantasist had tried hard, but without luck, against Turkey and the Czech Republic. This time he did not forgive and He already has 16 goals in 33 international appearances. Only the supermen Arveladze (26) and Ketsbaia (17). He also left several slaloms of merit protecting the leather to scratch for a few seconds. ‘Kavaradona is back.
Cristiano took less time to see a card than to score
Ronaldo is desperate for become the first player in history to score in six European Championships. Otherwise it is not understood thatwith the pass in his pocket and the leadership assured, Roberto Martínez started him against Georgia. It did help him, however, to reach 50 games played between Euro Cups and World Cups. In the end he did not score – he has accumulated three games without scoring – and on top of that he saw a yellow card for blatantly protesting a penalty. He should relax. Van Nistelrooy already said it: “Goals are like ketchup. Sometimes they don’t come out no matter how hard you try and then they come all at once.”
40 million for Mamardashvili? The saint is better…
A good goalkeeper is not only valuable for what he stops, but also for what he imposes. And Mamardashvili, with his 197 centimeters, does both very well. He imposes on the forwards with his mere presence. If Georgia is in the second round it is, in large part, thanks to him. Against Portugal he again gave Cristiano a good hand in a direct free kick, he excelled with a spectacular ‘dove’ from Dalot’s shot and repeated it in added time with two saves to Dalot and Semedo. It was rumored that he could go to Newcastle for 40 million euros. I say the same thing they say in my town: “The saint is better!”
PS: Levante could also hit the big time with Kochorashvili. A thigh injury has taken away his continuity, but he could well jump from LaLiga Hypermotion to EA Sports. Level yours in this Euro Cup.
