Georgia – Portugal

Portugal, even with a second team, will easily beat the outsiders

On Wednesday, 26 June, the group stage at the Euros will come to an end. Portugal's national team will likely play with a second squad but with Ronaldo against Georgia. The Euro newcomers only need to win to qualify for the play-offs. Georgia has already surpassed all predictions in the tournament. The team showed itself decently both against Turkey and in the meeting with the Czech Republic. At the same time, there is an obvious lack of class. In the confrontation with the Czechs the goalkeeper Mamardashvili had a miracle performance. The goalkeeper managed to prevent three goals according to advanced statistics. Some goalkeepers do not have such indicators for a full season. The last time in the history of the Euros, only Latvian goalkeeper Kolinko deflected more shots. That was in 2004. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is also silent so far. The leader of the Georgian national team has somewhat gone into the shadows at the Euros. There is increased attention to him, which gives some freedom to striker Mikautadze In any case, there are too many objective factors against Georgia. In the second match the draw was an unfair result - the Czech Republic played much better. Against Portugal, the team formally needs to play for a win, and this can provoke gross mistakes in defence. The Portuguese have no tournament objectives, but they have a mission for Cristiano Ronaldo - they need to help the veteran to make his sixth European Championship appearance. So far, Ronaldo hasn't been able to do that. It is very likely that Roberto Martinez will release a reserve squad along the lines of Spain, but with Ronaldo. The Portuguese have a very deep roster. For example, Jota and Neto - some of the best attacking players in the APL - are not in the first team right now. It will not get easier for Georgia - it is possible that it will only get worse. Portugal is still very relaxed in attack. The team has played connections, even with rotation players. Conceição scored the winning goal for the Czech Republic. In the first meeting had to suffer, but Portugal had a huge superiority in all indicators. One of the strongest defences was broken twice. Bookmakers give odds for Georgia slightly lower than it would be in a normal match. The second squad will not play a significant role. Portugal can win big and not concede. In the line, the option of both teams scoring is more likely. You can definitely argue with that. The Georgian team is unlikely to create many chances. Besides, the players are emotionally exhausted. To play three matches at such a level, and even against fresh, liberated stars - the national team looks doomed. It is logical to expect a big score and difficulties for the Georgian attack.