When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups?
Georgia and Czech Republic meet in their Second Group F match at UEFA EURO 2024.
Georgia and Czech Republic at a glance
When: Saturday 22 June (21:00 GMT+8 kick-off)
Where: Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
What: UEFA EURO 2024 Group F Matchday 2
What do you need to know?
The heat is on as tournament debutants Georgia take on a Czech Republic side with a rich heritage in this competition. Both teams lost their openers in dramatic fashion, the Czech Republic conceding in added time in a 2-1 loss to Portugal, while Georgia twice hit the goal frame in the closing stages before Türkiye broke away to round off a 3-1 scoreline. Another defeat could end either side’s top-two hopes.
Possible line-ups
Georgia: Mamardashvili; Kakabadze, Kverkvelia, Kashia, Dvali, Shengelia; Kochorashvili, Chakvetadze, Kvaratskhelia; Mikautadze, Zivzivadze
Czech Republic: Staněk; Holeš, Hranáč, Krejčí; Coufal, Barák, Souček, Provod, Douděra; Chytil, Schick
Form guide
Georgia:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LWDWLD
Czechia:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LWWWWW
Expert predictions
Vakhtang Bzikadze, Georgia reporter
In terms of points, Georgia departed Dortmund empty-handed on Tuesday but their performance against Türkiye did provide something: the belief that the tournament debutants are here on merit and can mix it with the best. A more defensive Czechia side will provide a very different challenge, but the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are well-equipped when it comes to breaking down opponents. It will be fascinating.
Ondřej Zlámal, Czechia reporter
This is a must-win game for the Czechs and they will have to approach it with a more attacking mindset than they did against Portugal – Ivan Hašek has already confirmed that this will be reflected in his starting XI. A word of caution, though: Georgia possess fast technical players who can punish you on the counterattack. Even so, Czechia should be able to build on the teamwork displayed in Leipzig on Tuesday.
What the coaches say
Willy Sagnol, Georgia coach: “I think we have to look at the big picture. We are at a EURO: this is a kind of reward for the work of the federation and I am very glad that I am part of all this. Getting out of the group should be the goal, but the most important thing now is to put on a good show. We are still in the development phase and this tournament will help us to become even stronger in the future.”
Ivan Hašek, Czechia coach: “I saw Georgia’s game against Türkiye – it was played at a very high intensity, very attacking. We had our analysts at the game and we know that we need to prepare very well. Georgia’s players have tremendous individual quality. We have certain ideas about our line-up; there will be changes [from Matchday 1].”