Georgia players can go home with their heads held up high, they punched above their weight and there's no shame in losing to this Spanish side. And "Kvaradona" certainly lives upto his nickname, everytime he had the ball he tried to make something happen, there were 3-4 Spanish players around him all the time.
This Spain side is scary good. Germany-Spain should be a good matchup. And Spain certainly won't leave this much space behind when playing against the Germans. Two of the standout players of this tournament for me are Wirtz and Nico Williams, will see who shines the brightest on the grand stage.
We all known that Spain was the more talented side, but they were more clinical in the final third. Georgia had some opportunities to threatened but slipped on that final pass.
Props to Georgia though. They played their game to the very end.
They seriously did play til the very end, that squad had the same heart as the 2018 Croatian side. Total brotherhood for pride of their or their parent's homeland. Honestly gutted their time in the tournament is over, it gave me bad feelings when Spain were their next opponents so early on into the knockouts. I hope during their return they're received as the heroes that they were
Excluding their central defense, spain is overall the best team of the tournament.
I unfortunately don't see how Germany would be able to beat them when I see how they lack control when playing and how difficult it is for them to get a goal and dealing with pressure.
The only team that could perhaps be a problem is france by setting a defensive lineup and parking the bus.which would basically prevent them from playing football. I imagine a kante, following rodri/pedri everywhere and kounde and hernandez just defending against Williams and yamal with the help of other midfielders.
And maybe with some luck (csc, free kick, corner or mbappe running behind the defense) france would rob spain this way.
Unlike Man City, Spain have not figured out how to be a high % possession based team and not be porous in the defensive transitions . Spain need fix their rest defence otherwise Germany will tear them apart on the counter attack
Congrats Spain, played your usual quality and I really can’t see any team capable of beating you right now.
And huge commiserations to Georgia. I’m sad your going out. Your team was exciting to watch and the tournament was made better for your presence in it. As disappointing as it is right now, you should be really proud of your team.
At this level any (top) team can beat each other on any given day. Spain a slight favorite vs any side, but that doesn't guarantee success.
Germany will certainly test them, anything can happen.
Absolutely, nothing is guaranteed and especially in a tournament, what you did yesterday doesn’t mean anything today. Anything can happen. The only thing I’m sure of is if they are really tested by another team then regardless of who actually wins, it’ll be a really exciting game to watch.
>Congrats Spain, played your usual quality and I really can’t see any team capable of beating you right now.
People are really rating Georgia way too high based on a win vs Portugal's B team with 2 gifted goals.
The only team Spain has played so far challenged their midfield domination was Croatia, and while that game ended 3-0 for Spain, Croatia actually had more posession, a higher xG, way more shots, etc... Could've easily ended very differently, and tougher opponents are still to come.
The intensity of the Spanish press is insane. They keep it up throughout the match too.
They have a lot of possession, but it's always positive, unlike Lucho's Spain.
I support Germany but I don't think they can beat Spain. They're by far the best team in this tournament
Lucho had trouble making it work for half a season and then it clicked with him making adjustments. People should not discredit the coaches that easily even if the players were truly outstanding there.
>Besides, his Barca was amazing to watch so what are we doing here?
You mean the side with prime MSN, Iniesta, Xavi, Rakitić, Busquets, Alves and Alba was amazing to watch???
Because PSG fans watch PSG games, most of this sub is an echo chamber and they don’t watch football outside their teams but will form opinions on other teams they don’t watch. And others who themselves don’t watch that particular team will upvote like a sheep
Such a shame that the best teams of the tournament already face each other in quarters.
Germany vs Spain should be the final when looking at the way they have played. Can't wait for it!
The winner is probably the winner of the entire tournament, so the stakes are truly high.
Spain was clearly the better team today, but Georgia showed some true fighting spirit. Big respect for not cowering under that pressure. They probably would’ve won against many other teams in the stage, but not this one.
Yes bias, but I think Georgia wins against anyone but Spain and maybe Germany. Georgia has pace and dribbling and unfortunately Spain squad just has more of that so they got outclassed. But lot of the georgain squad is just 23 years old so future is bright
Spain needs to improve defensively because some tougher teams will take more advantage of it.
Still good pressing and good showing, I think we really need to find an alternative for Morata because he was really poor today. I am not sure who though, as Oyarzabal does not look like it to me.
Maybe Olmo as a false 9? it might be dated.
Georgia is a nice team, they have some class players and they know how to play, they should be proud
One goal conceded all tournament and it's an own goal - I feel our defence is getting too much criticism for what should be expected in an international tournament. We are so solid all throughout the team.
because De la Fuente does not seem to trust them that much. Ayoze had some small injury and Joselu did not convince anyone the other day. I don't see Spain starting either of them, but obviously possible
Neither you and me are the coach, but I guess I'd take the chance to start an actual 9 and see how it goes and go for a plan B in the second half if it's not working.
Ayoze was injured I think and Joselu is…well. Joselu.
In terms of the football Spain wants to play I think Guruzeta is an excellent candidate, but he’s not very highly regarded yet.
I know that Georgia, as well as they played, aren’t a top team. But Spain’s football today was a joy to watch. They’ve been my favourites for a while but that solidifies it. The Germany game should be greatly interesting - as some have said it’s genuinely a final before the final.
Well, what can I say, unfortunate that we got Spain. Way too strong, way too relentless, way too organized.
Incredibly proud of our team, though. Especially Mamardashvili, none of the goals we conceded at this tournament were his fault. I guess it's unlikely that a player from the team that went out this early to get a sniff, but I really hope he's picked in the tournament 11.
Really impressed with Kochorashvili, teams should be lining up before Levante to buy him.
The rest also did their best - Kvaratskhelia, Kashia, Mikautadze, even Chakvetadze, who basically can no longer sprint without feeling pain, and the rest. Thank you, guys!
In my opinion he was as good as Kvaratskhelia. He carried the team to the Nations League final in 2020…
But unfortunately he got injured while playing for Gent and the team made him play on painkillers (as far as I know). His injury got so bad eventually that he had to operate it and missed an entire year. He’s been having injuries ever since. Never really recovered the form.
Mamardashvili has been the best GK for me this entire tournament. It’s wild that he’s this good and not even 24 yet. I would be shocked if a ton of top teams don’t try to grab him.
I'd argue he's been the best player in the tournament so far, he's so commanding and has such an aura that even in this game you can tell he got into the Spanish players heads before Rodri delivered, that save vs Nico Williams felt was outstanding and you can tell by Nico's body language that he was expecting to score.
I agree with you, he should be on a top team, he has best keeper in the world potential.
I think Spain has many advantages compared to other teams in the tournament, starting with the fact that most of these players play in the same league so the style is very in sync, the squad is very young and have been playing together since their U17s-U19s, with their Coach been also their coach in their u17-19s. Very well planned by the Spanish federation and very happy about this team.
Englands whole squad is in the Premier League except Bellingham and Kane. While spain has players in Ligue 1, Premier League, Saudi league and the Bundesliga (6 players total). an advantage but nothing that other teams dont have
Notice something. England's only other player who has spent some time in a foreign league is actually their best fullback- Trippier. Though he has fallen down a bit, he still has excellent qualities that the others simply do not possess.
Thank you Spain for cleansing our eyes from the horror of the earlier matchup. A joy to watch. A shame the two best playing sides in the tournament are playing in the quarters. If either we’re on the other side they’d surely make the final
Considering Croatia's and Italy's level has not been what it should, I'd like to remind everyone we haven't played anyone yet and to ask them not to be too hyped for the match against Germany. Hoping these players can keep it up against an actual big shot, but I won't be too disappointed if they don't.
Switzerland is the only other team, besides Spain and Germany, that have been trying to play something resembling football in this somewhat mediocre tournament... so yeah, better ingest as many pints as you can before quarters x)
There are squads full of good names who don't manage to produce good football (England, Italy and even France have been super meh). In addition, the jump to 24 teams produces some rather forgettable matches.
The atmosphere has been great tho.
It has been the most interesting tournament _outside of the pitch_ we've had in a decade, but that must not be confused with what happens once the ball starts rolling, where it has been full of teams without a gameplan, many players playing well below their potential, and matches you'd usually see in the qualifying stages that have no place in what should be a 16 team tournament.
We've only had two or three matches worthy of a high stakes tournament in paper, like Spain vs Italy and Netherlands vs France, and well... those were underwhelming enough for me to call the tournament mediocre and question whether it's you and not me who doesn't understand football.
Disclaimer, this doesn't mean B tier teams should automatically be disregarded and excluded from big occasions, but when there are so many of them, the amount of filler becomes too much, the proper tournament is barely starting now.
The smaller teams being good is far better than the big teams being good. No one would remember if France were better than they are, Georgia getting to the round of 16 is far more memorable and better for the game, hope this helps 👍
Just sounds like you don't understand the sport I'm sorry to say 😔
I agree with you. I don't think Spain has actually been tested yet if you consider how Italy and Croatia played. Germany got tested by the Swiss if you want to consider them a good team.
Only thing that is written in stone is it's gonna be an interesting game
When a team wins with dominance the opposition will always appear to be bad even if they did their best. You can get nullified. Spain dominated and you’re trying very hard to remove their merit.
Did Spain make Italy play bad?
no, they just bad. Switzerland though! That seems to be your argument
Mental gymnastics nothing more. Italy is always a fucking test. And so is Croatia for the past god knows how many years.
Georgia players can go home with their heads held up high, they punched above their weight and there's no shame in losing to this Spanish side. And "Kvaradona" certainly lives upto his nickname, everytime he had the ball he tried to make something happen, there were 3-4 Spanish players around him all the time. This Spain side is scary good. Germany-Spain should be a good matchup. And Spain certainly won't leave this much space behind when playing against the Germans. Two of the standout players of this tournament for me are Wirtz and Nico Williams, will see who shines the brightest on the grand stage.
We all known that Spain was the more talented side, but they were more clinical in the final third. Georgia had some opportunities to threatened but slipped on that final pass. Props to Georgia though. They played their game to the very end.
They seriously did play til the very end, that squad had the same heart as the 2018 Croatian side. Total brotherhood for pride of their or their parent's homeland. Honestly gutted their time in the tournament is over, it gave me bad feelings when Spain were their next opponents so early on into the knockouts. I hope during their return they're received as the heroes that they were
Excluding their central defense, spain is overall the best team of the tournament. I unfortunately don't see how Germany would be able to beat them when I see how they lack control when playing and how difficult it is for them to get a goal and dealing with pressure. The only team that could perhaps be a problem is france by setting a defensive lineup and parking the bus.which would basically prevent them from playing football. I imagine a kante, following rodri/pedri everywhere and kounde and hernandez just defending against Williams and yamal with the help of other midfielders. And maybe with some luck (csc, free kick, corner or mbappe running behind the defense) france would rob spain this way.
Unlike Man City, Spain have not figured out how to be a high % possession based team and not be porous in the defensive transitions . Spain need fix their rest defence otherwise Germany will tear them apart on the counter attack
Congrats Spain, played your usual quality and I really can’t see any team capable of beating you right now. And huge commiserations to Georgia. I’m sad your going out. Your team was exciting to watch and the tournament was made better for your presence in it. As disappointing as it is right now, you should be really proud of your team.
I mean, Germany is a pretty decent team…
At this level any (top) team can beat each other on any given day. Spain a slight favorite vs any side, but that doesn't guarantee success. Germany will certainly test them, anything can happen.
Except England. I don’t see them beating any top teams
I don’t see them beating any mediocre team either.
I didn't see them beating Slovakia today and yet here we are...
You call it beating. I call it getting lucky with individual talents. We aren't same.
errr, nah, I actually agree with you. Beating isn't the correct term here.
Absolutely, nothing is guaranteed and especially in a tournament, what you did yesterday doesn’t mean anything today. Anything can happen. The only thing I’m sure of is if they are really tested by another team then regardless of who actually wins, it’ll be a really exciting game to watch.
>Congrats Spain, played your usual quality and I really can’t see any team capable of beating you right now. People are really rating Georgia way too high based on a win vs Portugal's B team with 2 gifted goals. The only team Spain has played so far challenged their midfield domination was Croatia, and while that game ended 3-0 for Spain, Croatia actually had more posession, a higher xG, way more shots, etc... Could've easily ended very differently, and tougher opponents are still to come.
The intensity of the Spanish press is insane. They keep it up throughout the match too. They have a lot of possession, but it's always positive, unlike Lucho's Spain. I support Germany but I don't think they can beat Spain. They're by far the best team in this tournament
Why are you supporting Germany if you have a Real Madrid flair...
He is Kroos.
In fairness Lucho didn’t have near the quality of this team going forward
That's not an excuse because his PSG is also dreadful to watch
I will never watch that dead club. Besides, his Barca was amazing to watch so what are we doing here?
You can't make a team with prime MSN look bad or boring even if you try
Lucho had trouble making it work for half a season and then it clicked with him making adjustments. People should not discredit the coaches that easily even if the players were truly outstanding there.
I mean I'm pretty sure maurice Steijn would fuck it up.
>Besides, his Barca was amazing to watch so what are we doing here? You mean the side with prime MSN, Iniesta, Xavi, Rakitić, Busquets, Alves and Alba was amazing to watch???
PSG fans are very happy with him though.
Because PSG fans watch PSG games, most of this sub is an echo chamber and they don’t watch football outside their teams but will form opinions on other teams they don’t watch. And others who themselves don’t watch that particular team will upvote like a sheep
Comparing Spains Fabian with PSGs Fabian is also like night and day.
Such a shame that the best teams of the tournament already face each other in quarters. Germany vs Spain should be the final when looking at the way they have played. Can't wait for it! The winner is probably the winner of the entire tournament, so the stakes are truly high.
Ehh, idk. Austria and Switzerland have been pretty good.
Spain was clearly the better team today, but Georgia showed some true fighting spirit. Big respect for not cowering under that pressure. They probably would’ve won against many other teams in the stage, but not this one.
Yes bias, but I think Georgia wins against anyone but Spain and maybe Germany. Georgia has pace and dribbling and unfortunately Spain squad just has more of that so they got outclassed. But lot of the georgain squad is just 23 years old so future is bright
They literally lost against Turkey in the group stage so there are definitely more teams than Spain and Germany
They took too many conclusions from beating Portugal b team in a stupid system that won’t be used tomorrow with two mistakes from their 20 year old cb
And a robbing ref
Georgia has been amazing, but they're not Switzerland/Austria level ^^
Georgia literally lost 3:1 against Turkey less than two weeks ago?
Spain needs to improve defensively because some tougher teams will take more advantage of it. Still good pressing and good showing, I think we really need to find an alternative for Morata because he was really poor today. I am not sure who though, as Oyarzabal does not look like it to me. Maybe Olmo as a false 9? it might be dated. Georgia is a nice team, they have some class players and they know how to play, they should be proud
That 9 spot really is the only attacking weakness - you’re right that Morata just isn’t it.
One goal conceded all tournament and it's an own goal - I feel our defence is getting too much criticism for what should be expected in an international tournament. We are so solid all throughout the team.
This owen goal is a damn good player too, no shame by getting scored agains by him. Heard he scored 8 goals already this euro.
i agree
Joselu and Ayoze are literally in the squad, why even take them if you're not going to list them in the possible alternatives to Morata?
because De la Fuente does not seem to trust them that much. Ayoze had some small injury and Joselu did not convince anyone the other day. I don't see Spain starting either of them, but obviously possible
Neither you and me are the coach, but I guess I'd take the chance to start an actual 9 and see how it goes and go for a plan B in the second half if it's not working.
yeah tbh I don't see him testing this now... Morata playing decently would still be my pick to start but today he was really poor...
Ayoze was injured I think and Joselu is…well. Joselu. In terms of the football Spain wants to play I think Guruzeta is an excellent candidate, but he’s not very highly regarded yet.
Gerard Moreno is that guy, Guruzeta less so
I know that Georgia, as well as they played, aren’t a top team. But Spain’s football today was a joy to watch. They’ve been my favourites for a while but that solidifies it. The Germany game should be greatly interesting - as some have said it’s genuinely a final before the final.
Well, what can I say, unfortunate that we got Spain. Way too strong, way too relentless, way too organized. Incredibly proud of our team, though. Especially Mamardashvili, none of the goals we conceded at this tournament were his fault. I guess it's unlikely that a player from the team that went out this early to get a sniff, but I really hope he's picked in the tournament 11. Really impressed with Kochorashvili, teams should be lining up before Levante to buy him. The rest also did their best - Kvaratskhelia, Kashia, Mikautadze, even Chakvetadze, who basically can no longer sprint without feeling pain, and the rest. Thank you, guys!
>Chakvetadze, who basically can no longer sprint without feeling pain Why is that?
In my opinion he was as good as Kvaratskhelia. He carried the team to the Nations League final in 2020… But unfortunately he got injured while playing for Gent and the team made him play on painkillers (as far as I know). His injury got so bad eventually that he had to operate it and missed an entire year. He’s been having injuries ever since. Never really recovered the form.
Mamardashvili has been the best GK for me this entire tournament. It’s wild that he’s this good and not even 24 yet. I would be shocked if a ton of top teams don’t try to grab him.
I'd argue he's been the best player in the tournament so far, he's so commanding and has such an aura that even in this game you can tell he got into the Spanish players heads before Rodri delivered, that save vs Nico Williams felt was outstanding and you can tell by Nico's body language that he was expecting to score. I agree with you, he should be on a top team, he has best keeper in the world potential.
I think Spain has many advantages compared to other teams in the tournament, starting with the fact that most of these players play in the same league so the style is very in sync, the squad is very young and have been playing together since their U17s-U19s, with their Coach been also their coach in their u17-19s. Very well planned by the Spanish federation and very happy about this team.
Englands whole squad is in the Premier League except Bellingham and Kane. While spain has players in Ligue 1, Premier League, Saudi league and the Bundesliga (6 players total). an advantage but nothing that other teams dont have
Notice something. England's only other player who has spent some time in a foreign league is actually their best fullback- Trippier. Though he has fallen down a bit, he still has excellent qualities that the others simply do not possess.
We should have bought Dier
That’s just because La Liga > Premier League
Thank you Spain for cleansing our eyes from the horror of the earlier matchup. A joy to watch. A shame the two best playing sides in the tournament are playing in the quarters. If either we’re on the other side they’d surely make the final
Considering Croatia's and Italy's level has not been what it should, I'd like to remind everyone we haven't played anyone yet and to ask them not to be too hyped for the match against Germany. Hoping these players can keep it up against an actual big shot, but I won't be too disappointed if they don't.
England: "Yeah neither have we. Another pint?"
Switzerland is the only other team, besides Spain and Germany, that have been trying to play something resembling football in this somewhat mediocre tournament... so yeah, better ingest as many pints as you can before quarters x)
What about Austria?
Football wise, the tournament has been mediocre in terms of teams showing a competent style of play or just in general?
There are squads full of good names who don't manage to produce good football (England, Italy and even France have been super meh). In addition, the jump to 24 teams produces some rather forgettable matches. The atmosphere has been great tho.
Just not true is it? To call this tournament mediocre...deary me sounds like someone doesn't understand football.
It has been the most interesting tournament _outside of the pitch_ we've had in a decade, but that must not be confused with what happens once the ball starts rolling, where it has been full of teams without a gameplan, many players playing well below their potential, and matches you'd usually see in the qualifying stages that have no place in what should be a 16 team tournament. We've only had two or three matches worthy of a high stakes tournament in paper, like Spain vs Italy and Netherlands vs France, and well... those were underwhelming enough for me to call the tournament mediocre and question whether it's you and not me who doesn't understand football. Disclaimer, this doesn't mean B tier teams should automatically be disregarded and excluded from big occasions, but when there are so many of them, the amount of filler becomes too much, the proper tournament is barely starting now.
The smaller teams being good is far better than the big teams being good. No one would remember if France were better than they are, Georgia getting to the round of 16 is far more memorable and better for the game, hope this helps 👍 Just sounds like you don't understand the sport I'm sorry to say 😔
I agree with you. I don't think Spain has actually been tested yet if you consider how Italy and Croatia played. Germany got tested by the Swiss if you want to consider them a good team. Only thing that is written in stone is it's gonna be an interesting game
When a team wins with dominance the opposition will always appear to be bad even if they did their best. You can get nullified. Spain dominated and you’re trying very hard to remove their merit. Did Spain make Italy play bad? no, they just bad. Switzerland though! That seems to be your argument Mental gymnastics nothing more. Italy is always a fucking test. And so is Croatia for the past god knows how many years.
Also Germany didn't beat Switzerland lol.
And Germany didn't exactly pass that Switzerland test with flying colors. 50/50 match in my view.
We also havent played anyone of top level, so anything could happen in the next game. Would have prefered it to be the final tho