Euro 2024 team guide and best bets: Georgia
Georgia are arguably the least-fancied side at Euro 2024 as they prepare to make their major tournament bow.
But can Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and co outperform expectations? Get clued up on the Georgians in our comprehensive team guide, which features tactical analysis, players to watch, predicted line-ups, betting tips and more.
How Georgia qualified for Euro 2024
It wasn’t pretty, but it was historic.
Georgia qualified for their first European Championship in the most dramatic fashion plausible, edging out Greece in a tense penalty shoot-out following a tense 0-0 play-off stalemate.
Many in the former Soviet Union state would describe that as sweet retribution after they painfully fell short at the same stage four years earlier, losing 1-0 to North Macedonia.
In reality, Georgia’s qualifying group efforts were pretty dire. They finished fourth out of five sides, 13 points shy of table-topping Spain and nine behind second-placed Scotland.
But their impressive Nations League exploits were enough to get them into the play-off picture and they seized their chance.
Making the most of home advantage in both their semi-final and final, they beat a competent Luxembourg outfit 2-0 in Tbilisi before that famous night against Greece.
The Georgians weathered a storm in that game but few will remember or care. Ultimately, the result was all that mattered.
Georgia’s squad for Euro 2024
Georgia named their 26-man squad on June 1, 2024.
Goalkeepers: Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag)
Defenders: Lasha Dvali (APOEL), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis), Otar Kakabadze (Cracovia), Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al-Okhdood), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos)
Midfielders: Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante), Nika Kvekveskiri (Lech Poznań), Saba Lobjanidze (Atlanta United), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova), Gabriel Sigua (Basel), Levan Shengelia (Panetolikos), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi)
Forwards: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Giorgi Kvilitaia (APOEL), Georges Mikautadze (Metz), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruhe)
Georgia’s predicted starting XI for Euro 2024
Georgia’s star player - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Affectionately dubbed “Kvaradona” by his adoring fans in Naples, electric winger Kvaratskhelia is carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
Now 23, it has been an unusual path to stardom for the nimble-footed forward who first burst onto the wider radar with dazzling performances for Russian club Rubin Kazan.
In late 2021, he was the only player from his division to feature in L'Equipe’s “50 best players born in the 21st century” list — though he would soon find himself relocating.
Due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, RFL players were given special permission by FIFA to find other clubs and Kvaratskhelia returned to his homeland with Dinamo Batumi, where he lasted four months before Napoli came calling.
His achievements in Serie A are well documented, inspiring Napoli to a first domestic title in 33 years and shooting to global stardom. And though this season was underwhelming in comparison, he still notched a fantastic 19 direct goal involvements in all competitions (11 goals, eight assists).
Nowadays, Kvara finds himself a marked man. Opposition sides double up on him and inflict rough treatment, with similar tactics sure to be deployed this summer.
However, representing Georgia at a major tournament is the stuff of childhood dreams. Don’t expect him to depart Germany without making his mark.
Georgia’s one to watch - Giorgi Mamardashvili
One of Georgia’s only other players with elite-level club experience is Giorgi Mamardashvili, who has shone in between the sticks for LaLiga outfit Valencia this term.
Starting out his career with stints at Dinamo Tbilisi and Rustavi, ironically just like Kvaratskhelia, Mamardashvili has just completed his third campaign on Spain’s east coast.
Despite playing in a mediocre Los Ches side who have not managed a top-eight finish since his arrival, the 6ft 5in stopper has kept a superb 31 clean sheets in 100 outings and earned plenty of individual recognition.
Bayern Munich tried to secure a deal for him last summer but could not agree on a fee, while recent reports have strongly linked ambitious Premier League outfit Newcastle with a £35 million approach.
Toon fans will be keeping a closer eye on him than most this summer as a result and can expect to see plenty of him in action, given Georgia’s uphill task in Group F.
A first-class shot-stopper who uses his towering frame to command his area expertly, Mamardashvili still needs to improve with his feet if he is to become a world class modern-day goalkeeper.
But all the fundamentals are at a tender age, suggesting a hugely promising career is just getting started.
Georgia’s manager - Willy Sagnol
Former French international Willy Sagnol is the man who has masterminded Georgia’s unlikely route to the European Championship.
A well-rounded full-back who amassed 58 caps for Les Bleus during a golden period, Sagnol’s previous coaching experience consisted only of two mixed years in charge of Bordeaux in his homeland and a brief stint in Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff at Bayern Munich in 2017.
He ended a near four-year hiatus from the sidelines when accepting the Georgia job in February 2021 and oversaw a sluggish start, with just one win and seven defeats in his first nine starts.
But since then, the turnaround has been remarkable. His side have won 14 of their most recent 24 outings, losing only five and keeping clean sheets in exactly half of those clashes.
Quite simply, Georgia are now hard to beat. While they struggle to compete against Europe’s elite, they have made themselves a tough nut to crack under Sagnol and rely on individual moments of quality from star forwards Kvaratskhelia and Watford’s Giorgi Chakvetadze.
Regardless of how this summer pans out, Sagnol already feels like his decision to take the job has been justified.
He said: “Three years ago, when I agreed on the deal, many people asked me, ‘Why are you going there?’
“Now I can say that we worked a lot and achieved something. I'm happy and very happy as a coach and as a person.”
Sagnol was strongly linked with the vacant Republic of Ireland post before Georgia’s play-off final, though victory over Greece may have quashed that prospect — only time will tell.
Georgia’s Euro 2024 betting odds
Georgia to win Euro 2024 - 750/1
Georgia to reach the Euro 2024 final - 300/1
Georgia to qualify from Group F - 11/8
Portugal top team goalscorer - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 9/4, Georges Mikautadze 4/1, Budu Zivzivadze 11/2, 10/1 BAR
*All best UK prices as of 30/05/24
Analysis and best bets for Georgia at Euro 2024
Expert analysis from Odds Now’s Matt Hill:
“Willy Sagnol’s Georgia deserve huge credit for qualifying for Euro 2024, even if they did get in the back-door route thanks to their Nations League efforts earning a play-off spot.
“For such a low-ranked nation to win 14 of 24 games in any context is remarkable, while 12 clean sheets in that run tells you all about how they will be approaching things this summer.
“They have some outstanding individual quality in goal and up front but you have to be realistic and say they look sure to be outclassed against Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
“Sagnol will know himself that a smash-and-grab is their likeliest route to a victory but playing Turkey and the Czechs first is probably a negative, given both will give the fixture razor-sharp focus.
“It pains me to say it but the 4/1 about them not getting a point could prove fantastic value, while the 12/1 about no Georgian goalscorer is also a long shot worth having in the book.
“It’s worth noting on the latter that if their solitary strike at Euro 2024 was an own goal, you’d be paid out as a winner. You never know!
“Hopefully Georgia prove me wrong but I feel the gulf in quality may prove a bridge too far.”
Matt’s Best Bets:
Georgia to get exactly 0 points - 4/1 (Bet365)
No Georgia goalscorer - 12/1 (Bet365)