Georgia-Israel is a match in the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championships and is played on Saturday at 18:00: news, formations and predictions.
The knockout phase of the European Under-21 Championship 2023 opens with an unexpected quarter-final, which only the most daring could have predicted on the eve of the continental event.
Contending for a place in the semi-finals are the tournament’s two great revelations, host Georgia and Israel: whoever goes through will face the winner between England and reigning runners-up Portugal. Orphaned of its brightest talent, Napoli star Kvicha Kvaratskhelia – the Azzurri striker had been called up but opted not to play so as not to ask too much of his body after a very long season – the selection hosting this review together with Romania should have been a mere extra in a group that, on paper, looked prohibitive. Instead, Ramaz Svanadze’s selection ended up at the top of the standings, ahead of everyone else. They started with a bang, beating none other than Rui Jorge’s Lusitanians, and then only needed two draws against the Belgians and the Dutch (2-2 and 1-1) to bring home a historic qualification. Georgia therefore ended the group stage unbeaten: a huge source of pride for the Caucasians, who in 14 previous attempts had never managed to secure a pass to the final stage of the Under-21 European Championship.
There is a recent precedent in friendly matches
Aware that they are technically and qualitatively inferior, the Georgians are trying to close the gap on the big teams with a solid game organisation: they haven’t lost in six matches, in which they have always scored at least one goal.
Israelis celebrate a goal
The last defeat came, coincidentally, to Israel, who prevailed 2-1 in a friendly in November. Surprisingly, there is also Guy Luzon’s selection in the top eight of the tournament. Another unforeseeable qualification, considering that in the same group two battleships such as Germany and England had also been drawn. Israel seemed doomed after the first two days, in which they had scraped together a point against the Germans and the English, but a narrow 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic on the third day allowed them to take advantage of yet another misstep by the Germans, beaten by the English, who had already qualified, and to pass the round for the first time in their history. For Israel, the one with the Czechs was the first victory since the friendly with Georgia.
The Prediction
Both made it to the quarters against all odds, they should make for a very balanced encounter. If there is one selection that has done better, however, it is Georgia, who will also be able to count on the home factor, a not inconsiderable advantage. We expect a tight match, in which the total number of goals should be less than three.
The official line-ups for Georgia-Israel
- GEORGIA U21 (5-4-1): Mamardashvili; Gocholeishvili, Gelashvili, Kalandadze, Sazonov, Azarovi; Tsitaishvili, Gagnidze, Mekvabishvili, Davitashvili; Gagua.
- ISRAEL U21 (4-4-2): Peretz; Jaber, Lemkin, Cohen, Morgan; Gloukh, Gandelman, Karzev, Azoulay; Turgeman, Gorno.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-0
