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Georgia national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 28, 2023 at 5pm UK
 
Norway national football team

Georgia
1 - 1
Norway

Mikautadze (60')
Azarovi (53'), Aburjania (72'), Gocholeishvili (90+4')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Sorloth (15')
Solbakken (79'), Meling (89')

Preview: Georgia vs. Norway - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Georgia and Norway, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

With optimism of reaching a first-ever major tournament finals rising, Georgia welcome Norway to the Batumi Stadium for their opening Euro 2024 qualifying Group A battle on Tuesday.

The hosts thumped Mongolia 6-1 in a warm-up friendly on Saturday, while their Nordic counterparts fell to a 3-0 loss to Spain in their maiden Group A contest.


Match preview

Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates scoring against Spain on March 28, 2021© Reuters

With the indomitable Khvicha Kvaratskhelia kept in reserve, a wealth of Georgia's lesser-known stars stole the spotlight during the visit of Mongolia to Batumi, as Willy Sagnol's side overwhelmed the world's 183rd-ranked nation in a five-goal win.

Mongolia surprisingly held Georgia in the first half, but the floodgates opened thereafter, as Sagnol's side struck no fewer than five goals in the second 45 minutes, two of which came for Slovan Bratislava star Giorgi Chakvetadze.

Starting the new year as they finished 2022, Georgia are yet to make the finals of a World Cup or European Championships as an independent nation, but Sagnol has overseen a magnificent period of progress over the past 12 months - culminating in promotion to League B in the Nations League.

Taking 16 points from 18 on offer against North Macedonia, Gibraltar and Bulgaria, the Crusaders gleaned revenge over the former nation following their Euro 2020 qualifying heartache, having lost 1-0 to the North Macedonians in the playoff final courtesy of Goran Pandev's strike.

Prior to that painful loss in Tbilisi, Georgia had gone unbeaten in four Euro qualifying games on home soil - keeping clean sheets in all four contests - but Norway could have counted themselves unfortunate not to have breached the Spanish rearguard last time out.

Norway manager Stale Solbakken on September 24, 2022© Reuters

With Erling Braut Haaland watching on from the medical bay after pulling out with a groin problem, Norway were left to rue the striker's absence against France, who conceded several chances to Stale Solbakken's side but left with their clean sheet intact.

Up until the 84th minute, only a neat Dani Olmo flick could separate the two sides, but the introduction of 32-year-old debutant Joselu breathed new life into La Roja, as the Espanyol forward breached Norway's defence twice within the space of 106 seconds to end any fleeting hopes of a fightback.

The Lions could and probably should have been awarded a penalty when Rodri cleaned out Martin Odegaard in the first half - the Arsenal man held his tongue at the final whistle - but Solbakken's men are already at a disadvantage in their bid for just a second Euros Finals qualification.

Since being eliminated in the group stage in 2000, Norway have tried and failed five times to reach the continent's premier competition, and it is now just one win in their last five games in all competitions for Solbakken's leaky crop, who have gone six games without a shutout.

Norway can boast three wins from their previous three meetings with Georgia in all tournaments, but the two sides have not locked horns since May 1999, where current Lions boss Solbakken captained his side to a 1-0 Euro 2000 qualifying success.

Georgia form (all competitions):


Norway Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Norway form (all competitions):



Team News

Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring for Arsenal on March 1, 2023© Reuters

Prior to teaching Mongolia a footballing lesson, Georgia boss Sagnol lost midfielder Anzor Mekvabishvili and defender Davit Khocholava to injury, but the hosts are otherwise in tip-top condition.

Napoli trailblazer Kvaratskhelia was afforded a complete rest on Saturday, but the 22-year-old is sure to take his rightful place in the XI here - the same can also be said for Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Budu Zivzivadze and Giorgi Beridze both netted off the bench against the Mongolians, and the former - who plies his trade with German second-tier side Karlsruher - could spearhead the offensive in a 3-4-3.

Meanwhile, Haaland was not the only Norway casualty before their loss to Spain, as Brentford centre-back Kristoffer Ajer could not take part due to a calf injury, but Solbakken otherwise has all of his troops available.

Odegaard managed to escape serious injury following Rodri's challenge and will captain the side once more, while the goalscoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Real Sociedad's Alexander Sorloth.

Borussia Dortmund's Julian Ryerson should feel hopeful about his chances of displacing Marcus Holmgren Pedersen at right-back, but Solbakken should otherwise keep things largely as they are.

Georgia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Kashia, Dvali, Kobakhidze; Lobzhanidze, Kvekveskiri, Aburjania, Gocholeishvili; Kvaratskhelia, Zivzivadze, Chakvetadze

Norway possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Ryerson, Ostigard, Strandberg, Meling; Odegaard, Berg, Aursnes; Berge, Sorloth, Elyounoussi


SM words green background

We say: Georgia 1-1 Norway

While the vast majority of Georgia's victories in 2022 came against teams that they would have expected to beat, Sagnol's side should feel confident of getting their Euro 2024 qualifying bid off to a respectable start.

Norway held their own for long periods of their clash with Spain and were unlucky not to have breached the Roja backline, so we can picture a tightly-fought score draw on the Batumi turf.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Georgia vs Norway

Georgia
34.9%
Draw
19.0%
Norway
46.1%
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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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