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Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent
COLOGNE, Germany — Georgia coach Willy Sagnol has stated his workforce is not going to change their techniques after reaching the knockout levels of a significant event for the primary time of their historical past and promised to assault Spain on Sunday.
The bottom-ranked workforce at Euro 2024 surprised a Portugal facet who had already certified from Group F on Wednesday to arrange a gathering with much-fancied Spain within the spherical of 16 at Cologne Stadium this weekend.
That victory got here after energetic performances towards Turkey and Czechia and Sagnol stated it could be inconceivable to modify his facet’s model and simply sit again now.
“In opposition to Spain, Portugal, huge groups, if you’re Georgia, for those who solely take into consideration the way to defend, you recognize in some unspecified time in the future you’ll crumble,” Sagnol stated in a information convention on Saturday.
“So, no, we aren’t solely going to defend. Like towards Portugal, we’ll present the Spanish workforce and Europe that we aren’t solely good at defending, but additionally utilizing the ball. We had nice moments in possession towards Portugal and I hope tomorrow we are able to see identical type of efficiency.
“You’ll be able to’t inform your gamers daily for weeks, ‘Play freely, take dangers, do not calculate, do this, do this and do this’ and only for the knockout stage have a distinct speech with them. No, no.
“I give a whole lot of significance to our defensive technique and our self-discipline, however as soon as the gamers have the ball, they know they will do every part they need. Soccer will not be arithmetic or a chess sport, you additionally should play along with your emotions.”
Sagnol, who spent most of his enjoying profession at Bayern Munich, stated Georgia have already gained Euro 2024 simply by reaching this stage, including they don’t have anything to lose towards a Spain facet who beat them 7-1 in qualifying for the event lower than a 12 months in the past.
“I can not keep in mind this sport,” he joked when requested about that defeat. “In fact it has been a troublesome second for us, however typically to get additional in life you want moments like that the place it’s extremely troublesome, the place you assume you are not good and also you assume you will have finished every part dangerous.
“With out difficulties, you may’t have nice achievements. It was part of our journey. If we’re right here at the moment, I’m positive this 7-1 taught us a whole lot of issues and we discovered so much.
“Tomorrow is one other match. We’ll go into this sport with a whole lot of confidence as a result of we now have completely nothing to lose. For me, we already gained Euro 2024 and I’m very excited to be as soon as extra on the pitch and to listen to the Georgian nationwide anthem in an important stadium.”
Georgia face a Spain facet who gained all three group video games with out conceding a objective, with wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, who has acquired his college examination outcomes whereas in Germany, including a brand new dimension to Spain’s beforehand pass-heavy model.
Sagnol stated the emergence of the 2 forwards — Williams is 21 and Yamal nonetheless 16 — and different children is refreshing after greater than a decade of soccer being dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The final months of Williams and Yamal been incredible — their evolution has been sensible,” Sagnol stated. “It’s all the time good to see younger gamers approaching on the prime stage, particularly Yamal, he’s 16. I attempt to keep in mind the place I used to be at 16 and I used to be miles away from that.
“It is good, it brings one thing recent to soccer. The issue of the soccer world within the final 15 years has been the ping pong between Messi and Ronaldo, so to see younger gamers at this stage is nice for soccer.
“However Spain even have one in all finest gamers in world in midfield in Rodri. After I have a look at Spanish soccer, all positions are crammed with nice gamers.”
Georgia even have gifted gamers. Georges Mikautadze is the highest scorer on the event with three targets, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has excelled and Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has impressed, scoring the opening objective within the victory over Portugal in midweek.
Mamardashvili brought on a stir forward of the match with Spain by saying Kvaratskhelia is best than all of Spain’s gamers in an interview with Marca.
“I’m only a Georgian individual and I’m his fan and I feel he is likely one of the finest on this planet and somebody who might win a Ballon d’Or,” Valencia‘s Mamardashvili, seated alongside Sagnol, stated in a information convention.
“It doesn’t imply I do not respect Spanish gamers, after all I do. They’re nice, however as an abnormal Georgian I feel Khvicha is likely one of the finest on this planet.”