JAKARTA - An incomplete tournament without the story of the underdogs who made a heroic story at Euro 2024 played by Georgia.
Georgia will face Spain who twice beat them in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, in the last 16 of the 2024 European Cup at the Cologne Stadium, Koln, Germany, Monday morning at 02.00 WIB.
La Roja have won six meetings with Georgia, while The Crusader won only once in a friendly in June 2015.
Two of Spain's six wins were scored last year in two Euro qualifying matches with scores 7-1 and 3-1.
In any case, Spain, ranked 8th in the FIFA ranking, is above Georgia, which is ranked 75th or lowest among all Euro 2024 participants.
But the success of Willy Sagnol's team in silencing Portugal, ranked 6th and favorites to win Euro 2024, has opened European eyes that Georgia is not a complementary team.
Despite following Euro 2024 with minuses after being ranked fifth of the six teams in the group and from theplayoffNations League, Georgia has changed from a team that Spain scored a total of 10-2 in two matches last year.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente doesn't want to underestimate Georgia, especially after they beat Portugal thanks to the good backlash and management of the set-piece situation.
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De la Fuente thinks Georgia is no longer the Georgia they beat twice last year. He respects Georgia, and asked his players not to underestimate Georgia, and to strengthen their ability to ward off counter-attacks.
Georgia coach Willy Sagnol has also forgotten what happened two years ago and is ready to match his opponent who qualified for the knockout stages after winning three group stage matches.
Sagnol said his team would enter the arena with high confidence, but did not want to be burdened by anything so they would play loose because Georgia already felt they had won the 2024 European Cup after the target of qualifying for the group phase was met.
No opponent is stronger than the team that has high confidence, let alone, borrowing Willy Sagnol's sentence, football is not math and not chess, because this is also a game that relies on the heart.
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