Georgia’s other superstar aiming to shoot down Spain and cause another Euro 2024 shock
Tom and Jerry, Ant and Dec, Batman and Robin, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze. Okay they don’t all quite trip off the tongue as easily as each other, but all are tried and tested pairings.
Many had predicted that Georgia would be solely reliant on the Napoli star nicknamed ‘Kvaradona’ at Euro 2024, and sure enough he did impress in the superb win over Portugal when he scored after just 92 seconds.
But Kvaratskhelia has had huge help from his gifted strike partner Mikautadze, and we could soon be seeing a lot more of him.
Mikautadze ended the group stages as the top scorer in the competition, netting a goal in each one of Georgia’s matches.
The 23-year-old also finished last season in superb form, scoring 14 goals in 22 games on loan at Metz, the club he thought he had left behind last summer when he joined Ajax for around £16m after seven years on the books in northern France.
Metz’s relegation to Ligue 2 ended any hopes of re-signing him permanently, but his displays at Euro 2024 have been turning heads.
Monaco are now said to be close to agreeing a deal for him, although the likes of Newcastle, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund have been linked.
Georgia will be relying on Mikautadze’s partnership with Kvaratskhelia if they are to shock Spain in Cologne, where the pair will continue to play as an old-fashioned front two, just as they did against Portugal.
Mikautadze scored in each one of Georgia’s group games (
Getty Images)
Kvaratskhelia spoke honestly and with great emotion after that victory, with the Serie A title winner calling it the “best day of his life” and “a dream”, as Georgia suddenly became everyone’s favourite underdogs at the tournament overnight.
Manager Willy Sagnol, a 2006 World Cup runner-up with France during his 58-cap international career, knows how tough it will be to continue that run against Spain, but in his eyes they are already winners.
“When you’re the small team you know you have nothing to lose,” he said. “The only thing we said after the competition was that whatever happened we didn’t want any regrets.
Willy Sagnol is eyeing a huge shock (
Image:
Visionhaus/Getty Images)
“So you have no weight on your shoulders. It’s difficult when you’re France, when you’re England, when you’re Spain, when you’re Portugal, because you’re under pressure, because people expect you to win.
“The only responsibility we had was to make the Georgian nation proud of their players. And I think we’ve done that in the best way.”
