Georgia and Czechia will be eager to get off the mark when they lock horns in a Group F tie at the Volksparkstadion on Saturday.
The curtains will drop on Matchday 2 of UEFA Euro 2024 on Saturday, which brings us three matches. The action on the day will kick off Volksparkstadion, where Georgia and Czechia will lock horns, hoping to remain alive in the competition by getting their first points of the tournament.
Georgia took the scenic route to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024. The Crusaders finished fourth in Group A of the Qualifiers but were eligible for the playoffs due to their exploits in the most recent UEFA Nations League edition. Willy Sagnol’s men kept two clean sheets and beat Greece on penalties in the final to reach the Euros. However, their campaign began on a sour note as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Turkiye.
As for Czechia, they secured automatic qualification to the finals after finishing runners-up in Group E of the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers. They were second behind Albania due to an inferior head-to-head record after the top two teams finished level on points. Like Georgia, the Nasi suffered a defeat on Matchday 1, losing 2-1 to Portugal to a late Francisco Conceicao strike.
Saturday’s clash will be the first-ever clash featuring Georgia and Czechia. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the maiden meeting between the two sides in UEFA Euro 2024.
Team News & Tactics
Georgia
Willy Sagnol does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Czechia on Saturday, Georgia’s head coach should have a full-strength squad.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Georgia lining up in a 3-5-2 formation in front of him against Czechia. The central defensive unit should feature Lasha Dvali, Guram Kashia, and Solomon Kvirkvelia.
The trio will aim to remain compact to shut out the half-spaces. Meanwhile, Otar Kakabadze and Giorgi Tsitashvili should start as the two wing-backs, with the duo contributing on both ends of the pitch.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Giorgi Kochorashvili, Anzo Mekvabishvili, and Giorgi Chakvetadze. The three midfielders will aim to keep things tight in the middle of the park. Finally, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze will complete the numbers in the attack, with the latter aiming to continue from where he left off against Turkiye.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Mamardashvili; Dvali, Kashia, Kvirkvelia; Kakabadze, Kochorashvili, Mekvabishvili, Chakvetadze, Tsitaishvili; Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze
Czechia
Like his counterpart in the Georgian dugout, Ivan Hasek does not have any new issues to deal with ahead of the trip to Volksparkstadion. Czechia’s head coach will have a fully-fit squad on Saturday.
Czechia will line up in a 3-5-2 formation against Georgia, with Jindrich Stanek taking his usual spot between the sticks. The 28-year-old should be a busy man in the goal again. Tomas Holes, Robin Hranac, and Ladislav Krejci should form the central defensive unit.
Vladimir Coufal and David Doudera will likely start as the two wing-backs. The duo will drop deep to create a back-five during the defensive phases. However, they will also have a role to play in the final third by providing the width and sending dangerous crosses into the box.
As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek will shore up things in the middle of the park, receiving defensive support from Antonin Barak and Lukas Provod. However, Barak and Provod will provide the forward thrust from the central areas. Finally, Mojmir Chytil and Patrik Schick will be the two strikers for Czechia.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Stanek; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Barak, Soucek, Provod, Doudera; Chytil, Schick
Key Stats
- Saturday’s clash will be the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Czechia in any competition. Czechia have won five of their last six matches when facing a nation for the first time, with the exception being a 2-1 loss to Kosovo in the most recent game in September 2019.
- Georgia lost their first-ever match at the UEFA European Championship against Turkiye. Since the introduction of the group stage, only two nations have lost their first-ever game at the Euros but still qualified for the knockout stage, with Slovakia and Northern Ireland doing so in 2016.
- Since beating Switzerland in their opening match at UEFA Euro 2008, Czechia have lost seven of their last 12 group-stage matches at the Euros (W3 D2). They have not lost their opening two matches at an edition since 2000 against the Netherlands and France.
- Georgia had 14 shots in their 3-1 defeat against Turkiye on Matchday 1 of UEFA Euro 2024. It was the most by a nation in their first-ever match at the European Championship since Austria in 2008 vs Croatia (20).
- Jindrich Stanek made seven saves against Portugal, the most of any goalkeeper on Matchday 1 of UEFA Euro 2024. It was the most by a Czechia goalkeeper in a European Championship match since Petr Cech in 2008, also against Portugal (8).
Player to Watch
Patrik Schick
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will again be under the spotlight when Georgia and Czechia clash on Saturday. However, we have picked another attacker (from the opposite side) for this section. We are talking about Patrik Schick.
Schick had to battle hard for game time, managing only 1,615 minutes of game time. However, he still amassed 13 goals and three assists in his outings. Czechia will need the 28-year-old at his best to take anything from Saturday’s game at the Volksparkstadion this weekend.
Prediction
Georgia 2-2 Czechia
Both teams had some positives and many negatives in their first group-stage outings. Those qualities should come to the fore on Saturday when Georgia and Czechia lock horns at the Volksparkstadion. Their defensive vulnerabilities mean the two offensive departments will be in contention throughout the ninety minutes.
Meanwhile, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Patrik Schick will be eager to step up after drawing blanks on Matchday 1. If they rise to the occasion, an engrossing affair will come our way this weekend. In the end, there might not be much to separate the two sides, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw.