Berlin: Spain recovered from one goal down to overpower stubborn Georgia 4-1 in Euro 2024 round of 16 at Cologne’s sold-out Rhein-Energie Stadium on Sunday.
Spain started on the front foot and created several chances in the opening stage, but Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was equal to the efforts from Daniel Carvajal and Pedri, while Nico Williams pulled wide from the edge of the box.
The opener was scored at the end of the pitch though and with great assistance of Spain defender Robin Le Normand, who cleared Otar Kakabadze’s cross into the wrong goal giving Georgia the 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
Spain responded with furious attacks and had to wait as Fabian Ruiz, Pedri and Marc Cucurella couldn’t beat Mamardashvili, who had his hands full of work.
Luis de la Fuente’s men got eventually rewarded for their power play just before the half time as Williams teed up for Rodri, whose left-footed shot into the bottom right corner left Mamardashvili chanceless in the 39th minute.
Georgia remained dangerous after the break as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tried to catch Spain custodian Unai Simon flat-footed with a shot from the distance.
Spain went in search of the lead and made it 2-1 with 51 minutes gone as Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross found Ruiz, who nodded home from close range.
Georgia went all in and got caught off-guard following a counterattack as Fabian’s long ball allowed Williams to finish the job with a solo run and hammer into the roof of the net in the 75th minute.
The relentless Spaniards weren’t done with the scoring and made it four in the closing stage after Dani Olmo’s low strike beat Mamardashvili into the bottom left corner.
With the victory, three-time Euro champion Spain clashes with tournament host Germany in Stuttgart’s MHP Arena on Friday.
“It was as expected, a tough match for us. We knew that, but we made our own life difficult in the first half. We were also nervous after we conceded the goal but responded well with the equalizer before halftime. We must show our best football against tournament hosts Germany now,” said Spain’s player of the match Rodri.
