“When you know where we come from”: Sagnol’s emotion after Georgia’s qualification for the last 16 of the Euro

Georgia is not the most high-profile team in the football landscape, but Willy Sagnol’s phone was still on the rise as soon as his players qualified for the round of 16.

On Wednesday, the Georgians dominated a second-placed Portugal (2-0). Despite their total inexperience in the European Championship, they thus secured third place in Group F. The 4 points gleaned from three matches were enough to please Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s gang.

“Football satisfaction”

Where the feeling of “first time” predominated after the Crusaders’ first qualification for a Euro, the coach this time tasted a real “footballing satisfaction”. But the taste of success will quickly be replaced by the scent of competition.

The Georgians have a date with a real client in the next round. On Sunday (6pm), they challenge Spain, who will have benefited from two additional days of rest, while the former coach of the Girondins de Bordeaux feels his players are “tired”.

The record of direct confrontations is not flattering. Four defeats in four games since Sagnol took power, including a slap (7-1) last September. “This is the big part of this first round,” he assured the sports daily. “A wall is going to rise up in front of us! As since the beginning of this Euro, we have nothing to lose. There are no teams to avoid when you are Georgia. We will go into this match by doing what we know how to do and trying to do it well.”