Georgia vs Portugal. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Georgia will face Portugal in the UEFA EURO 2024 3rd-round match of Group F at the VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. The fixture will take place on Thursday, June 27, beginning at 00:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Georgia News & Current Form: 

If there were a fan favourite award at the European Championship, the Georgia national team would certainly be one of the top contenders. Under the leadership of FC Bayern Munich and France legend Willy Sagnol, the modest team has made it to a major football tournament for the first time in its history. During the qualifiers, Georgia finished only fourth in their group, trailing behind Spain, Scotland, and Norway. 

Nonetheless, their successful performance in the UEFA Nations League earned them a chance to compete in the championship. In two home matches, they first defeated Luxembourg and then drew with Greece. This result not only delighted the fans but also significantly boosted the team’s morale. Following this, there was a friendly match against Montenegro, which Georgia won 3:1 as part of their preparation for the tournament in Germany.

Heading into the final round, the team is at the bottom of Group F, but they still have a chance to advance to the playoffs. Their chances will increase significantly if Georgia secure three points in the upcoming match. However, for this to happen, the team must achieve the nearly impossible – beat Portugal.

In the first-round match, Georgia and Turkey delivered one of the best matches of the tournament. It was a very open and technical game, with beautiful goals from the Crescent-Stars and suspense until the final whistle. However, in the end, when Giorgi Mamardashvili ran to the corner to save a shot, the opponents scored a third goal, and Georgia lost with a score of 1:3. The final result was largely influenced by the experience of the Turkish players and their successful execution. Sagnol’s men played boldly in attack, hit the gate twice, had chances to score at least two goals, and overall, the Caucasian team had 14 shots on goal (a record for debutants in the continental championship).

“We knew a tough match awaited us, and that’s exactly what we got,” said Willy Sagnol after the match.

“The Czech Republic attacked fiercely from the start, creating many scoring chances and likely feeling disappointed with the result. However, our goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, was outstanding.”

“While we may regret a missed opportunity, we have nothing to lose in the European Championship. We respect our opponent and aim to achieve something good and be rewarded for it. We know it will be difficult, but now, the main focus is to recover our strength after such a challenging match.”

In the second round, Sagnol’s team led 1:0 at half-time against the Czech Republic thanks to a penalty goal by Georges Mikautadze, but after the break, they missed a Patrik Schick goal. The match ended in a 1:1 draw. Incidentally, the Reds should have snatched three points in the last attack of the match when they had a three-on-one situation against a defender. However, Saba Lobzhanidze shot over the bar, which was quite strange since he wasn’t tired, having come on only in the second half. This was purely a matter of execution skill for the MLS Atlanta United FC player.

Goalkeeper Mamardashvili made eleven saves in that match and naturally became a national hero. The match resulted in Georgia earning their first-ever point in the final part of the European Championships. However, it is worth noting that the team has not won in regular time in 8 of their last 10 official matches (3 draws, 5 losses) and conceded in 10 of their last 13 official games over the 90 minutes.

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made 11 saves in the march against the Czech

The Georgia national team has a decent playing squad led by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is currently performing well at SSC Napoli and is wanted by many top clubs. Besides the Scudetto winner, there is also the promising goalkeeper Mamardashvili, who plays for Spain’s Valencia CF, and FC Metz forward Mikautadze, who scored against Turkey. Additionally, the rest of the Georgian players have considerable experience on the European stage and have already proven their worth.

Portugal News & Current Form: 

Portugal made quite a splash at the EURO in 2016, where they claimed their long-awaited trophy, barely advancing from the group stage in third place with just three points in their quartet. It was a very tough road to the final, but Ronaldo stepped up at crucial moments and made history. In the final match of that tournament, they managed to defeat France in extra time (1:0), with Éder scoring the all-important goal that secured the victory for his team.

The team’s most recent success in major tournaments was in 2019 when they clinched the Nations League title. In the final, they overcame the Netherlands (1:0) thanks to a goal from Goncalo Guedes in the 60th minute.

At the last EURO 2020, Portugal performed poorly, exiting at the Round of 16 stage where they lost to a strong Belgium side (0:1). They had reached the playoffs by finishing third in their group, which included tough matches against Germany, France, and Hungary.

Straight after coming to the field as a substitute Francisco Conceição scored a decisive goal against the Czech

For EURO 2024, Portugal qualified through an impressive qualifying campaign, where they dominated their opponents. In 10 qualifying matches, they achieved a perfect score of 30 points and topped their group. Their goal statistics were particularly impressive, with 36 goals scored and only 2 conceded. Now, in the group stage of the current campaign, Portugal have already secured their place in the playoffs from the top spot. This allows the 2016 European champions to experiment with their starting lineup in the final group game, giving opportunities to players who have not yet featured in the tournament.

The Navigators currently boast a fantastic generation of players capable of contending for the trophy. The evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s undisputed leader, has no plans to retire from international football. The team, led by experienced coach Roberto Martínez, includes many players who are key figures for their clubs, such as Leão, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Pepe, Diogo Dalot, Joao Félix, and several other outstanding footballers. Notably, forward Rafael Leão will miss the upcoming match due to suspension.

In their opening match of EURO, Selecao took a while to get going but eventually secured a 2:1 victory against a worthy opponent in the Czech Republic. The Czech players were the first to score in the 62nd minute, but this only spurred the Portuguese to push forward even more. Seven minutes after conceding, they equalised thanks to an own goal by Robin Hranáč. Towards the end of the match, a substitution by the coach paid off as Francisco Conceição, who had just come on, scored with his first touches. He scored 20 years after his more famous father, Sérgio Conceição, had found the net in the Euros.

In the second round, Portugal crushed Turkey (3:0). Coaching staff altered the formation and some players for the match, seriously preparing for the challenge. Though the participation of Joao Palhinha was justified, the opponent effectively sealed their fate with a bizarre auto goal in the middle of the first half, scored by Samet Akaydın. Before that, Silva had scored, and Fernandes sealed the victory with an assist from Ronaldo. In that situation, Cristiano could have taken the shot himself but unselfishly allowed his teammate to score his first goal in the final stages of the European Championships. In the second-round match, the Al-Nassr FC player made 20 passes, with only 10% of them made in his own half.

Georgia form guide: L-W-W-W-L-D

Portugal form guide: L-W-L-W-W-W

Georgia vs Portugal Head-To-Head Record:

• May 31, 2008: Portugal 2 – 0 Georgia (International Friendly).

Georgia vs Portugal Predicted XI:

Georgia’s possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Mamardashvili; Kverkveliya, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Mekvabishvili, Kochorashvili, Tsitaishvili; Davitashvili, Kvaratskhelia; Mikautadze.

Portugal’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Costa; Semedo, A Silva, Dias, Cancelo; Neves, Palhinha, B Silva, Fernandes, Felix; Ronaldo.

Statistical preview of the match Georgia vs Portugal:

• The Georgian national team holds 74th place in the FIFA ranking of national squads, while the Portuguese collective is ranked 6th.
• Georgia’s First XI average age is 26.8 years, and Portugal’s First XI average age is 25.5 years.
• Sandro Schärer has been appointed as the centre referee. The match official has already served 4 games this season, showing an average of 2.75 yellow cards and also whistles 25 fouls per game. 
• The Georgians have conceded in 5 of their last 7 matches. The only games in which Giorgi Mamardashvili’s side have kept their gates shut have been in the decisive play-offs to qualify for the Euros.
• Both opponents have scored in three of the last five meetings between the Portuguese and Georgia.
• This game will be only the second ever between Portugal and Georgia and the first on an official level.
• Georgia has scored more than 3 goals per game in 2 of their last 3 matches;
• Georgia conceded an average of 1.00 goals per game in their last 5 games and scored an average of 1.40 goals per game.
• In the last 5 games, Portugal scored an average of 2.60 goals per game and conceded an average of 1.00 goals per game.
• Portugal’s winning streak at the official level already stands at 12 games. In addition, in the last seven official matches, the national team has scored at least twice. 

What has been said before the match:

Giorgi Mamardashvili expresses happiness and pride in earning the team’s first point at the European Championship. He acknowledges a missed last-minute opportunity but maintains a positive outlook, recognizing that such moments are part of football:

“We are happy to be here. Congratulations on the first, historic point at the European Championship. Of course, we could have won in the last minute, but that’s okay, everything happens in football.”

“Most of all, Saba Lobzhanidze wanted to score a goal in the last minute. He is a very cool player and will definitely score in the next matches. It is also a proud moment for him because we got the first point today at the European Championship.”

“We continue to fight. We have a difficult game against Portugal because they are one of the favourites in the European Championship. Let’s play our game and see what happens.”

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia believes he can contribute more and emphasises the near-success of the team in the match:

“The Czech national team is a strong opponent, but the defence played well. When they attacked us with a lot of power, we had a good chance to score a goal. It turned out that our strong point, playing on counterattacks, is productive. I do everything for the national team and I am happy to be here. I think I can do more. We were close to winning, but this can happen to any player. Giorgi Mamardashvili is the best goalkeeper in the world.” 

Georgia vs Portugal Prediction:

Being a debutant team at the European Championship is already a huge success for the Georgian team, but the hot Caucasian guys certainly did not arrive at this tournament to sit out, they proved it with their energetic and entertaining game. The Georgian players’ attacking line looks especially impressive. However, the sluggish defensive system makes all the efforts of the forwards come to nought. In the first match, the Turks netted three goals, and in the second one, the same scenario would probably have happened if not for the outstanding performance of the Georgian goalkeeper, who stopped eleven of the Czechs’ twelve shots on target. 

Now comes the next challenge: they will face one of the most dynamic attacks of the tournament, which is definitely more dangerous than the Czechs. The Portuguese national team with experienced Cristiano Ronaldo and a whole set of outstanding players from the strongest leagues is one of the main favourites for the European Championship. The total market value of this team is 6.5 times more than the Georgian squad. Taking a stretch of the last 10 official games, the Red-Greens have scored an average of 3.6 goals per match. The reserves that Roberto Martinez is likely to put on the field are not much inferior to the main Red-White players in terms of skill level and will fight with fire in their eyes to prove their right to be included in the starting lineup for the playoff games. 

The Georgian national team played the second fiddle in each of the previous matches spending the majority of the match in defence. In terms of shots on goal, they are seriously behind their opponents: 1 – 11 against the Czechs and 4 – 8 against the Turks. This is a worrying pattern within one tournament. It’s improbable to pick up a victory when shooting at goal 2.5 times per game on average. Portugal has a different story: 3 – 3 against Turkey, with a large advantage against the Czech Republic, 8 – 1. 

This match will be the last stop for the Georgian national team at the debut European Championship. Although the Portuguese certainly have no tournament motivation for this clash, their vast experience and skillfulness will be enough to achieve the objectives. Both the Czech Republic and Turkey were noticeably superior to the Georgian national team, and one point gained in these two matches is a piece of great luck for Willy Sagnol’s team. The slow and uncoordinated Georgian defenders regularly lose opposing players in their own penalty area, and the Portuguese are going to hit hard whenever they make numerous mistakes. Georgia rely on a trio of centre-backs, although this doesn’t add to their solidity – defenders are too inert, and they can’t defend in numbers either.

Georgi Mamardashvili will not be able to avoid a spate of goals if Georgia plays aggressively. The Caucasians need a victory to progress further, they must go forward, lay siege and look for chances near the opponent’s penalty box. Attacking with big numbers is risky, especially against such a consistent defence that will be sure to dispatch the ball to the wingers at the right moment. The two highest expected goal totals at Euro 2024 have been achieved exactly in the matches against the Georgian team, with Turkey accumulating 3.01 xG and the Czech Republic — 3.12. The Portuguese will be well positioned to take advantage of a shaky defence even without Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leão. 

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Portugal will win with an individual total over 1.5 – Yes.
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