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Republic of Ireland national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 26, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Georgia national football team

1-0

Hourihane (36')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Georgia coach Vladimir Weiss hoping for "miracle" against Republic of Ireland

The Georgians lost to Switzerland in their opening fixture.

Vladimir Weiss admits he will know what Georgia's Euro 2020 fate is likely to be by the time the final whistle blows in Tuesday night's qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

The Georgians lost their opening Group D fixture 2-0 to Switzerland on Saturday and a repeat at the Aviva Stadium would leave them off the pace in the race for qualification.

Weiss' men have already secured a play-off place as a result of their fine Nations League campaign, but as they continue their quest for a first trip to the final of a major tournament, the Slovakian believes what happens in Dublin could prove key.

He said: "We have a chance next year to do something amazing for Georgia football, but we must play now at this moment. Two teams go through and we will try to do it also in the group, which would be something unbelievable.

"But it's not easy. The favourite in the group is of course Switzerland, then Ireland and Denmark and we and Gibraltar, we will try to do it.

"Sometimes in life, miracles happen, but tomorrow this game will show what our chances in the group will be for the next games."

Georgia are yet to beat Ireland in nine attempts, although they have come agonisingly close in recent years and claimed a 1-1 World Cup qualifier draw in Tbilisi the last time the sides met in September 2017.

The Republic were perhaps fortunate to escape with a point that night and Georgia have been left to contemplate what might have been on more than one occasion as they have gradually closed the gap on the Ireland.

Weiss said: "Every game is not easy. In history, we lose or draw sometimes. But tomorrow, we will try to change this history and try to win because if we want to challenge in the group, we need some points from this game because we lost against the favourite in the group, Switzerland, at home.

"We will see tomorrow if we can do it. We know how we can play, but we must show that on the pitch."

Ireland, of course, will have new manager Mick McCarthy at the helm, and that will present Weiss with a new puzzle to unravel after he previously locked horns with predecessor Martin O'Neill.

The former Slovakia head coach said: "A new coach every time brings something new to the team and new spirit, but I won't speak about it because Martin O'Neill was my good friend and he did an amazing job for the national team.

"He's a lovely, lovely guy. I love him so much and I wish him all the best at his club, and tomorrow we will see.

"It won't be an easy game, but we want to win and we will try to do our best. We want to attack, but I also couldn't beat Ireland with Slovakia – we had two draws and I have had one draw and one loss with Georgia. We will try to change that tomorrow."

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Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy pictured on March 22, 2019
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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