Key events
45+5 min: Great save by Mamardashvili! This is top-class goalkeeping. Soucek sweeps pass into Schick, who chops past Kashia 15 yards from goal and fires an instant left-foot shot towards the bottom corner. Mamardashvili plunges to his right to push it round the post, a stunning reaction save.
GOAL! Georgia 1-0 Czech Republic (Mikautade 45+3 pen)
Georges Mikautadze scores his second goal of Euro 2024! It was a decisive penalty, curled high to his right as Stanek dived the other way.
PENALTY TO GEORGIA!
A very modern handball – Hranac was trying to get his arm out the way – but handball nonetheless. What a chance for Georgia.
45+2 min: The referee is going to the monitor! I think the ball brushed the outstretched arm of Hranac before it reached Kashia. This will be given.
45+1 min: Chance for Georgia! Kvaratskhelia’s free-kick bounces across the area and reaches Kashia, who wriggles away from a defender but then shoots straight at Stanek from eight yards.
Hang on, there’s a VAR check for a Georgia penalty.
45 min The Czech Republic should be ahead but it’s Georgia who are ending the half on the front foot. Mikautadze, who protects the ball very well, is fouled on the right wing by Krecjl. Kvaratskhelia will take the free-kick…
43 min “I lived in Czech in 1998,” says Ben Dunn. “I saw the Prague derby – a local bribed a security guard to get us in. The stadium was packed and the concrete cracked. I saw Czech vs Estonia, 4-1 if I remember. Nedved was by far the best player on the field, and had a shout for best in the world. I lived in a town called Jirkov.”
I’d have to check but I think that game was on 14 October 1998. IIRC the Czech Republic were 4-0 up at half-time after a goal from Nedved, two from Patrik Berger and an own goal from Estonia’s Janek Meet.
40 min Georgia are having a decent spell. Tsitaishvili plays a good pass into the area for Mikautadze, who can’t quite make room for a shot.
39 min Provod is booked for sweeping Mikautadze’s legs from under him.
38 min “Please don’t tell anyone l, because I haven’t patented it yet, but I have invented a pre-cog VAR,” says Niall Mullen. “It can predict a goal-reversing infringement at the start of any move so the ref can stop the game before any of those soul-crushing goal reversals. I’m hoping that second and third generation models will eliminate the need for the game entirely. I can foresee some of the counter-arguments but what we will lose in entertainment we will gain in accuracy and correctness. And who could possibly have a problem with that?”
36 min Kashia is booked for booting the bottom of Soucek’s foot.
35 min Kvarataskhelia’s through pass deflects kindly for Davitashvili near the byline. His low cross is miscued not far wide of the near post by Coufal, which gives Georgia a corner.
34 min Kakabadze’s shot from 20 yards is blocked by Jurasek.
31 min Blimey, the shot count is Georgia 0-13 Czech Republic. It hasn’t felt that one-sided. Georgia have played some decent stuff, though evidently they’ve been all hat and no cattle.
29 min Hlozek shoots straight at Mamardashvili from the edge of the area. The Czech Republic really should be in front.
27 min Kvaratskhelia plays a neat one-two, dances to the edge of the area and is beautifully tackled by Hranac.
At the other end Cerny plays two one-twos but then miskicks six yards from goal. The flag had gone up, although it looked very tight so that might go down as a bad miss – in real terms if not in the statistics.
26 min “I’m a bit sad that this is the last 2pm/3pm game of this tournament,” says Ben Chia. “Being in South East Asia these games have a more reasonable 9pm broadcast time, as opposed to the later games which are on at 12 midnight and 3am. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
You sure England can’t tempt you?
25 min That decision also shines a light on Mamardashvili’s first save, which was the best of the match by a distance.
NO GOAL! Georgia 0-0 Czech Republic
It took a couple of replays to be sure, but in the end it was a clear – if inadvertent – handball.
Another long throw from the right caused problems. It bounced off a defender towards Hlozek, whose close-range shot was brilliantly blocked by Mamardashvili. The ball rebounded into the face of Hlozek, then onto his left arm and into the net. This should be disallowed.
GOAL! Georgia 0-1 Czech Republic (Hlozek 23)
This might be a case for VAR.
22 min The game has slowed down a little after that breakneck start. It feels like the Czech Republic are dominating possession, though Georgia are very dangerous on the break.
20 min Czech Republic work the ball really neatly across the field from left to right, but Jurasek’s cross isn’t the best.
19 min “Your US readers can watch all the Euro games by subscribing to Vix which covers ALL the Euro and Copa America games at a very reasonable price,” writes Martin Widdicks. “The only catch is that it’s in Spanish… although that maybe a benefit given the traditional view of Fox sports’ commentary line-up. As for the game, Georgia are wonderful to watch, I hope the Czechs also go for it today.”
They are certainly going for it; they could easily be 2-0 up.
18 min “Hi dear Rob,” writes Stephen Bradfield. “Might be worth reminding the readers that Georgia has produced some great players in the past. Who can forget the great Dinamo Tbilisi side of the early 1980s – Kipiani, Chivadze et al?”
They were slightly before my time but sound utterly thrilling. One of these days I’ll watch the full game of their 4-1 win at Upton Park, which somebody has kindly uploaded to YouTube. I think the first time I became aware of Georgia as a football nation was when they thrashed Wales 5-0 in 1994, and then when that little genius arrived in Manchester.
18 min Coufal is harshly booked for fouling Kvaratskhelia. Not even sure it was a foul.
Also, where did those last five minutes go?
13 min Provod’s deflected long-range shot is saved comfortably by Mamardashvili. This is already, like Georgia’s first game, a great advert for a 24-team Euros.
11 min Replays show that was a really tough decision for the referee, and indeed VAR. Krejci kind of fell into Davitashvili, but with enough clumsiness that the referee couldn’t be certain it was a foul.
My instinct is that it was still a foul, though I can see why it wasn’t given.
10 min: Georgia penalty appeal! The impressive Davitashvili gets the wrong side of Krejcl in the area and appears to be pulled down, but the referee waves play on! I’d like to see that again.
10 min Kvaratskhelia gives the world a quick injection of joy with a lovely piece of skill, lobbing the ball over Coufal and surging down the left.
10 min “Once again, I have to write in with the obligatory ‘Fox can just go feck themselves’ email,” writes Joe Pearson, although he didn’t say feck. “Another 9am game ignored. I hate them so much. But love you, man! Keep up the good work!”
Any port in a storm.
9 min A defensive header is collected on the edge of the area by Schick, whose shot is blocked desperately and brilliantly by Kvirkvelia.
9 min This will not end 0-0.
8 min Play continues to lurch from end to the other. Cerny enquires about a penalty when his shot hits the arm of a defender, but it was right down by his side.
4 min The lively Davitashvili surges into the area with purpose, forcing Hranac to come across and concede a corner. This is thrilling stuff.
4 min A cross from the left is met by Schick, whose firm header is pushed away by the diving Mamardashvili. Another pretty good save, though you’d expect him to make it.
3 min: Double save from Mamardashvili! The first chances fall to the Czech Republic. A long throw from the right was allowed to bounce and reach Hlozek, whose low shot was kicked away by Mamardashvili. The ball ricocheted around the area, and then Mamardashvili leapt to paw away Schick’s follow-up shot.
2 min Georgia have made a flying start, an increasingly rare sight these days and therefore even more endearing.
1 min Peep peep! Georgia kick off from right to left as we watch. This could be loads of fun.
The anthems
The Georgia players, some with their eyes closed, are singing their anthem as if it’s the last time they’ll ever have the privilege. As somebody who has never really experienced the joys of patriotism, it’s almost spine-tingling.
Here come the players, all wearing rather lovely kits. The Czech Republic’s is here, and this is Georgia’s.
Georgia’s two forwards, Georges Mikautadze and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, have both bent hurt in the warm-up. No suggestion yet that they will miss the game, but it’s not exactly ideal preparation.
And this is an equally good piece on the Czech Republic goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek, once of Everton and Hyde United.
This is a really nice piece from earlier in the year on David Webb, Georgia’s assistant manager.
Webb looked to build team spirit by getting players to tell each other personal stories. He talks about playing attacking football, with “calculated risks and passion, desire and intensity”. He talks about bravery and the actor Beth Harmon picturing the chess pieces fall into place in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit.
The tournament director Philipp Lahm on Germany’s young guns
[Florian] Wirtz has an excellent first touch, changes pace skilfully and has great positional awareness on the pitch; just see his goal against Scotland.
[Jamal] Musiala is virtually impossible to get off the ball and he can beat an opponent from a standing start. When the opposing teams have parked the bus and lined up their players in front of goal, he is able to find solutions. He was named player of the match in the first game and scored for the second consecutive game against Hungary.
This is the last day of the second round of group games, and also the last of the 2pm kick-offs in this tournament. Life moves pretty fast, eh.
Pick those out
Team news
One change for Georgia, with Zuriko Davitashvili replacing Giorgi Chakvetadze.
The Czech Republic bring in Adam Hlozek, David Jurasek and Vaclav Cerny for Jan Kuchta, David Doudera and Pavel Sulc.
Georgia (3-5-2) Mamardashvili; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Tsiatishvili, Davitashvili, Mekvabishvili, Kochorashvili, Kakabadze; Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia.
Czech Republic (3-4-3) Stanek; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Soucek, Provod, D Jurasek; Cerny, Schick, Hlozek.
Referee Daniel Siebert (Germany)
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Preamble
Well that escalated quickly. Georgia and the Czech Republic have only played one game at Euro 2024, and they played pretty darn well too, but they are already at the precipice of a great crossroads. Defeat for either team today would leave them needing snookers reach the last 16.
Georgia were involved the most enjoyable game of the tournament to date, a pulsating 3-1 defeat to Turkey, while the Czech Republic gave Portugal enough of a scare that Cristiano Ronaldo felt compelled to dance on their grave when Francisco Conceicao scored an injury-time winner. Let’s hope for more excitement today.
Kick off 2pm BST.
