Former player NGUYEN TUAN PHONG: Georgia is very difficult to cause a shock

As for Georgia, this is a team that has created a lot of sympathy in the tournament with its beautiful playing style. However, their defense is a problem when they let their opponents exploit too much.

Former player Nguyen Tuan Phong

Through 3 group stage matches, Georgia had to endure 71 "bombardments" from the opponent, more than double the number of shots that Willy Sagnol's team created. Even their ticket to the next round was greatly contributed by goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili with more than 20 saves. In addition, the bright spots in the midfield were Giorgi Kochorashvili and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who created good breakthroughs.

In the final round of the group stage, coach Sagnol and his students caused a surprise when they defeated Portugal. But looking back, Ronaldo's team ran out of motivation when they entered the round of 16 early as the top team in Group F, playing with a squad consisting mostly of young players. Georgia was lucky to score early.

The new team from Eastern Europe attacks very well and counterattacks very quickly thanks to their good ball recovery ability.

Fabian Ruiz is a new discovery in the Spanish midfield in this tournament. (Photo: REUTERS)

However, in the match on the morning of July 1, I think Spain has a much higher level of performance and cohesion than Spain. The history of confrontation shows that Georgia has been defeated by Spain twice (lost 1-7, 1-3 in the qualifying round).

It will be very difficult for Georgia to create a surprise in this match. If there is a surprise, it can only come if they score first against Spain after a counter-attack. It is also very difficult to drag Spain into extra time to decide the winner in the 11m shootout.

The team from the "land of bullfighting" is more dangerous than before. They no longer focus on ball control and aim higher than under coach Luiz Enrique. Statistics show that their possession rate in Germany is now only 54% compared to 60.8% at Euro 2016 and 66.8% at Euro 2020. The average number of passes has also decreased (490 passes/match) compared to 781 passes/match under coach Enrique, but the rate of dribbling has increased - 22 times/match compared to the previous tournament's 13.5 times/match.

The threat to the opposition defence comes from many directions, but I am impressed by the wing-forward pair Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and midfielder Fabian Ruiz.

In the group stage, Spain showed almost no weaknesses. If they create many chances and shoot many times, the goals will come.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cuu-tuyen-thu-nguyen-tuan-phong-georgia-rat-kho-gay-soc-196240629203816553.htm