Iberia is the name given by the ancient Greco-Romans to the kingdom that flourished in the Caucasus, between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD, in what is now the territory of Georgia and which was at its inception. For some classical authors, this would be the land of the Eastern Iberians, as opposed to the Western ones, who inhabited a peninsula four thousand kilometers away, at the other end of Europe.
Distant relatives or not, there are those who argue that the mysterious origin of the Basque people could run through the Caucasus, justifying the hypothesis with some linguistic proximity to the Georgian language. What Spain (or Portugal) certainly does not share with modest Georgia is the international football dimension, although the Portuguese did not prove this in the 2-0 defeat against the former Iberian-Eastern team, in the last match of the stage. Euro 2024 kits.
A warning for the Spaniards, who will face the Caucasian national team in the round of 16 tonight (8pm), in Cologne, with the memory of the Moroccan syndrome in the last World Cup still fresh. In 2022, in Qatar, the Moroccan national team eliminated Spain in the round of 16 and Portugal in the quarter-finals, contrary to all expectations.
After a historic qualification to the final stage of a major tournament, and staying in the group stage with a win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, morale will be high against Spain. This comes despite recent painful defeats against the higher-ranked Iberian side, who are seeking an unprecedented fourth title in the competition.
The two teams met in the qualifiers for the same European Championship, in September and November 2023, and the result was clearly negative for the Georgians. After a huge humiliation in Tbilisi, where they were defeated 7-1, Georgia also lost to Spain 3-1.
He ended up reaching the European Championship through it. Clears his throatAfter defeating Luxembourg (2-0) and Greece on penalties. In Germany, the team started incorrectly with a defeat against Turkey (3-1), but added its first point by drawing with the Czech Republic (1-1), before reaching the highest level in its football career against Portugal. He has scored in every game and will now test the only team to have kept a clean goal through their first three matches.
If the odds and statistics do not smile at Georgia, what remains is the confidence of the players and the complete faith of the fans, which has increased in this European Championship. The impressive performance of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili (who plays for the Spanish team Valencia) and the excellent moment of Khvichi Kvaratskhelia, who scored the first goal against Portugal, contribute to raising expectations.
The owner of the Georgian networks does not want to contain this enthusiasm. For me, Spain is the biggest candidate to win the European Championship. Georgia, on the contrary, is a small country but with a big heart. We have to fight as hard as we can. “We had a good season and we want to enjoy, fight and compete,” he summed up on Friday, before the meeting, considering Kvaratskhelia “better than all of Spain”.
Georgia’s success also included veteran centre-back Guram Kashia, 36, who was either on target or searching for a goal, registering nine shots. The national team captain was called for by some fans and political leaders to leave the team seven years ago after wearing an LGBTIQ+ badge during a match for his former team, Vitesse, in the Netherlands.
He has remained steadfast with the support of his teammates with whom he now shares the greatest moments of Georgian football.
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