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Spain4 - 1Georgia

sportsmole.co.uk, 30 June 2024, 21:37
Spain bounced back from an early setback to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the European Championship on Sunday evening at Georgia's expense.

An own goal from Robin Le Normand saw Georgia take a shock lead in the last-16 contest, but the Spain fightback was incredibly impressive, with Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo on the scoresheet.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how each player performed during the Spain win, which has set up a mouthwatering quarter-final with tournament hosts Germany.

Spain player ratings vs. Georgia: Williams, Yamal, Rodri produce for Spain

GOALKEEPER

Unai Simon - 7/10

Could do nothing about Georgia's opening goal, with the ball coming off his defender, and the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper then had very little to do during a comfortable evening.

DEFENCE

Dani Carvajal - 7/10

Arguably the best right-back in the world at the moment, and he put in another solid performance for Spain before being substituted in the latter stages of the contest.

Robin Le Normand - 6/10

Scored an own goal to send Georgia ahead and had some shaky moments during the contest, but he deserves praise for recovering from what was a big setback early on.

Aymeric Laporte - 7/10

Showed that he is still a dominant force at this level, with the centre-back more than prepared to push forward, but he was also solid at the back when required.

Marc Cucurella - 7/10

Put in another solid performance for Spain before his withdrawal in the 66th minute. Was not afraid to get forward and also used his pace to help combat a couple of Georgia counter-attacks.

MIDFIELD

Pedri - 7/10

Was key to Spain's fast passing in the opening half of action, but he was substituted early in the second half, with La Roja being cautious when it comes to his fitness due to the midfielder's previous injury issues.

Rodri - 9/10

Scored a brilliant leveller for Spain, and he dominated the midfield battle after a strong start from Georgia. The Manchester City star really is a world-class performer.

Fabian Ruiz - 8/10

Scored a header to send Spain 2-1 ahead in the second period, and he then provided the assist for Williams to score late on, with the midfielder having a very productive match.

ATTACK

Lamine Yamal - 8/10

Provided a wonderful cross for Ruiz to score, and he came close to registering himself on a number of occasions. The 16-year-old was a constant menace to the Georgia defence on Sunday night.

Alvaro Morata - 5/10

Not quite at his best on Sunday evening. Showed some nice touches during the link-up play, but the forward found it difficult to harm the Georgia defence during his 66 minutes on the field.

Nico Williams - 9/10

Put in a man-of-the-match performance against Georgia, setting up Rodri for Spain's first, before scoring himself in the second period. It is not difficult to see why so many clubs want to sign him this summer.

SUBSTITUTES

Dani Olmo - 8/10

Olmo is another player sparking a lot of transfer interest this summer, and he demonstrated his quality with a brilliant touch and finish to make it 4-1 to Spain late on.

Alejandro Grimaldo - 7/10

Unfortunate to not be the starting left-back for Spain this summer, but he was nice and solid for La Roja when he was introduced in the 66th minute of the contest.

Mikel Oyarzabal - 7/10

Entered the field in the 67th minute of the match and was able to provide a telling contribution, setting up Olmo for Spain to score a fourth in the latter stages of the contest.

Jesus Navas - 6/10

Still going strong at the age of 38, and the Spaniard used his experience in the latter stages to deal with a couple of Georgia counter-attacks.

Mikel Merino - 6/10

Showed some nice touches when he was introduced in the 81st minute of the match, and there could yet be an important role for the Real Sociedad midfielder to play this summer.

Georgia player ratings vs. Spain: Mikautadze struggles in disappointing defeat

GOALKEEPER

Giorgi Mamardashvili - 7/10

Conceded four, which on paper, is not good, but it would have been worse had the Valencia goalkeeper, who has been excellent this summer, not made a number of super saves.

DEFENCE

Otar Kakabadze - 6/10

Provided the cross that saw Spain score an own goal in the 18th minute, but he struggled to get forward after that and found himself isolated against Williams on a number of occasions.

Giorgi Gvelesiani - 6/10

Was substituted in the latter stages of the contest after a difficult night, but he did manage to win some individual battles in the first half of the match.

Guram Kashia - 6/10

It was not really a case of Georgia defending badly on Sunday, with Kashia another respectable performer, but Spain were simply too fast and too slick for their opponents in this match.

Lasha Dvali - 6/10

Like the majority of his teammates, can be relatively pleased with a lot of his work, but he found it difficult when Spain started to stretch the Georgian defence with movement in the wide areas.

Luka Lochoshvili - 6/10

Was not able to get forward on too many occasions due to Spain's dominance of the ball, but he was defensively solid for long spells and can be content with his overall performance.

MIDFIELD

Giorgi Chakvetadze - 6/10

Was not a surprise to see him replaced just past the hour during a period when Georgia were struggling to stay in the match, but he was solid in the opening 45 minutes of the contest.

Otar Kiteishvili - 7/10

Started well for Georgia and was a key part of their positive play in the opening 45 minutes of action, but the midfielder disappointingly had to be substituted through injury late in the first period.

Giorgi Kochorashvili - 6/10

Played the full match in the middle of the Georgia midfield but was simply second-best to the likes of Rodri and Ruiz, who both put in excellent performances for the winners.

ATTACK

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - 7/10

It was his pressure that saw Le Normand turn into the back of the Spain goal early on, and the Napoli forward continued to look a threat when Georgia were able to break.

Georges Mikautadze - 6/10

Remains the joint-leading goalscorer at the competition with three goals, but he was unable to register for a fourth match in a row, with the forward hardly having a kick against Spain.

SUBSTITUTES

Sandro Altunashvili - 5/10

Was the first Georgia substitute off the bench, entering just before the interval, but he was unable to make his mark.

Georgiy Tsitaishvili - 5/10

Had a brilliant chance to level the scores in the 68th minute, but the substitute fired wide of the target, and it might have been a different story if the ball had found the back of the net.

Zuriko Davitashvili - 5/10

Was tasked with providing a different threat in the final third of the field, but the forward hardly touched the ball during a dominant second-half performance from Spain.

Nika Kvekveskiri - 6/10

Completed 13 of his 15 passes while on the field and certainly brought some composure to the side, but it was too late for the 32-year-old to have a serious influence on the contest.

Budu Zivzivadze - 5/10

Replaced Mikautadze due to the forward's struggles, but the forward was unable to have an impact.

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