Spain beats Georgia effortlessly and secures its place in the quarter-finals

(MENAFN-IANS) Berlin, July 1 (IANS) Spain recovered from a one-goal deficit to beat stubborn Georgia 4-1 late on Sunday in their Euro 2024 round of 16 tie at a sold-out Rhein-Energie-Stadion in Cologne.

Spain started offensively and created several chances in the early stages, but Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was equal to the efforts of Daniel Carvajal and Pedri, while Nico Williams missed from the edge of the box.

However, the first goal came at the end of the pitch and with great assistance from Spanish defender Robin Le Normand, who cleared Otar Kakabadze’s cross into the wrong goal in the 18th minute, giving Georgia a 1-0 lead.

Spain responded with furious attacks and had to wait as Fabian Ruiz, Pedri and Marc Cucurella could not beat Mamardashvili, who had his hands full.

Shortly before halftime, Luis de la Fuente’s men were finally rewarded for their power play when Williams set up Rodri, whose left-footed shot into the bottom right corner left Mamardashvili no chance in the 39th minute.

Georgia remained dangerous even after the break when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tried to catch Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon off guard with a long-range shot, Xinhua reported.

Spain pushed for the lead and increased the lead to 2-1 in the 51st minute when Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross found Ruiz, who headed in from close range.

Georgia went all out and were caught completely off guard after a counterattack when Fabian’s long ball allowed Williams to seal the deal with a solo run in the 75th minute and hammer the ball into the net.

The tireless Spaniards were not finished scoring goals and increased their lead to 4-0 in the closing stages when Dani Olmo beat Mamardashvili with a low shot and found the bottom left corner.

Thanks to the win, three-time European champions Spain will face tournament hosts Germany on Friday in the MHP Arena in Stuttgart.

“As expected, it was a tough game for us. We knew that, but we made life difficult for ourselves in the first half. We were nervous even after conceding the goal, but we reacted well and equalised before half-time. Now we have to play our best football against tournament hosts Germany,” said Spain’s player of the match Rodri.

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