Football

The star of Naples, teammate of our goalkeeper and the pair from Slovan Bratislava. A nasty newcomer awaits the Czechs at the Euros, looking to surprise

The second opponent of the Czech national team at the upcoming European Championship will be Georgia. The newcomer of the championship has a big star from Naples in the nomination, but also teammate Vítězslav Jaros. The pair from Slovan Bratislava may also contribute to a possible surprise.

Published

1 month ago

3. 6. 2024

Michal Sedláček

khvicha kvaratskhelia, neapol — Zdroj: Depositphotos

The second opponent of the Czech national team at the upcoming European Championship will be Georgia. The newcomer to the championship has a big star from Naples in the nomination, but also teammate Vítězslav Jaros. The pair from Slovan Bratislava may also contribute to a possible surprise.

No, this is not a one-man team, as it might seem at first glance. While Napoli winger Khvich Kvaratskhelia is clearly the best known man to be found in Georgia’s nomination, the Czechs’ opponent in Group F has other mainstays.

The 23-year-old star, who is being eyed by French side PSG, plays in the national team with the likes of Valencia number one Giorgi Mamardashvili and Austrian double holder Otar Kiteishvili. The latter is also a teammate of Vitezslav Jaros, who was nominated for the championship.

“The meeting is going quite well. We started the preparation with an incomplete team and had several training sessions. Some players have joined us and we will meet the rest of the team next week,” the national website quotes Otar Kiteishvili as saying.

The champion pair from Slovan Bratislava

French coach Willy Sagnol is working with an incomplete squad for now. More players will complete the 26-man squad this week. If no one gets injured, this team will stay together after the official announcement of the nomination, which must be made by Friday, June 7.

Watford’s second division midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze and French Met’s striker Georges Mikautadze are also expected to feature in Germany. The selection of former great defender Sagnol also includes champions with Slovan Bratislava Guram Kashiya and Dzaba Kankavau.

Bordeaux goalkeeper Zuriko Davitashvili, Atlanta’s overseas forward Saba Lobzhanidze and eighteen-year-old Gabriel Sigua, who has been playing in the Swiss Basel League since he was sixteen, will also see their first major national team action in Georgian history.

In Group F, Georgia will face Turkey and Portugal alongside the Czech Republic. The second match against our team will take place on Saturday 22 June in Hamburg. Can the newcomers surprise anyone?

Georgia’s nomination for the European Championships:

Goalkeepers:
Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia)
Giorgi Lorija (Dinamo Tbilisi)
Luka Gugeshashvili (Karabakh)

Defenders:
Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Guram Kashiya (Slovan Bratislava)
Otar Kakabadze (Cracow)
Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al Uchdoud)
Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis)
Lasha Dvali (Apoel Nicosia)
Luka Lociosvili (Cremonese)
Jimmy Tabidze (Panetolikos)

Midfielders:
Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz)
Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford)
Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante)
Nika Kvekveskiri (Poznan)
Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberg)
Gabriel Sigua (Basel)
Anzor Mekvabishvili (Craiova)

Forwards:
Khvich Kvaratskhelia (Naples)
Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux)
Georges Mikautadze (Mety)
Giorgi Tsitashvili (Dinamo Batumi)
Levan Shengeliya (Panetolikos)
Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruhe)
Giorgi Kvilitaja (Apoel Nicosia)
Saba Lobzhanidze (Atlanta)