Sf there is one thing that Georgia has shown that they have known how to do perfectly in this European Championship, it is defending. A facet of their game that without a doubt is what has led them to the round of 16 in their first participation in a major national team championship in their history. And blessed be fate, now they will have to face the team that managed to beat them twice in the previous qualifying phase.
Now, if there is something that has changed, it is that they are conceding fewer and fewer goals and they have managed to turn this strength into their main attack. A facet that allows talents like Kvaratskhelia to look ahead in order to beat their rivals. It is the formula that they are also using to make Mikautadze one of the most lethal forwards in the championship and that he has been the highest scoring player in the group stage.
These are the Interwetten odds for Spain – Georgia:
The duel in the goal
The reliability of the goalkeepers has a lot to do with this difficulty in conceding goals. In the case of Georgia, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Valencia’s goalkeeper, is one of the stars of this Euro 2024 Championship. 83% of shots that reach his goal are stopped by the goalkeeper. He always appears to support his Georgia, the revelation of the competition. A percentage that does not surprise the Valencians since in LaLiga, where he has played all 38 games, he has stopped 72.48% of the shots.
Although it is precisely in this competition where he has had his “biggest rival”: Unai Simón. Athletic Club’s goalkeeper has been Zamora for a reason in this 2023/2024 season and he has made fewer saves (93) than Giorgi himself (108) during this campaign. Although even so, thanks also to the defensive reliability of Ernesto Valverde’s team, with 33 goals conceded in 36 games, he has been the one who has conceded the least in the competition. A record that he has expanded by not receiving any goals so far in the Euro Cup.
These are the Interwetten penalty shootout odds:
