Georgia-Cyprus is a match on the eighth day of Group A of Euro 2024 qualifiers and is played on Sunday at 3 p.m.: predictions.
Beat Cyprus at all costs and hope that, at the same time, the match scheduled in Oslo between Norway and Spain ends in a draw. Only then can Georgia continue to hope for direct qualification to the next European championship, a dream that is now – in fact – unattainable.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia’s selection, however, is not completely out of the picture. In the sense that, thanks to winning their own group in Nations League C, the Caucasians are already sure to play in the play-offs. And who knows, this time things may not turn out right, given that two and a half years ago they went one step closer to a historic qualification to the most important continental review: in fact, Georgia played the playoffs already in the previous qualifiers, losing the very final against North Macedonia at the end of a very tight competition. During the week, meanwhile, the representative team led by former French national team and Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol “rested.” Or rather, it was engaged in a friendly match with Thailand, which ended with a score of 8-0 (the Napoli striker also scored).
It was the first victory after three consecutive defeats against Scotland, Spain and Norway, the three selections that not coincidentally precede Georgia in the rankings.
Charalampous and Kastanos vs. Norway
Particularly heavy one suffered against Luis de la Fuente’s Roja, who went wild a month ago in Tbilisi and scored seven goals (1-7). Against Cyprus, pinned to last place in the standings with zero points, Sagnol’s men should open a positive mini streak. The Cypriots, coached by a Georgian of their own – it’s former Newcastle midfielder Temur Ketsbaia – last Thursday also cashed in four goals with Norway (0-4), after the six they remedied last month with Spain.
The prediction
In these qualifiers Cyprus has shown its limits against higher level selections: the only defeat suffered by a single goal difference was against Georgia, which in March got the better of Ketsbaia’s men “only” 2-1. The Caucasians should impose themselves this time as well, although the first two places are unreachable. It is not out of the question that the Cypriots will return to scoring a goal after three matches in which they have been on an empty streak.
The probable lineups of Georgia-Cyprus
- GEORGIA (3-5-2): Mamardashvili; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Mamuchashvili; Gocholeishvili, Kiteishvili, Kvekveskiri, Chakvetadze, Azarovi; Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze.
- CIPRO (3-5-2): Mall; Karo, Gogic, Kyprianou; Andreou, Kyriakou, Kousoulos, Charalampous, Correia; Kastanos, Christofi.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
