A first point of Euro 2024 was more historic for one team than it was the other. Check out the best facts, stats and live Opta data with our Georgia vs Czech Republic stats page.
Georgia are at Euro 2024 as complete outsiders, knowing that they might not have all that many opportunities to celebrate. They have now, however, achieved more than many would have expected of them, after they picked up their first ever point at a major international tournament with this hard-fought draw against Czech Republic.
This was more a must-not-lose game than a must-win for both sides, who knew that after defeat in their opening matches, losing here would spell elimination later in the day if Turkey vs Portugal ended in a draw.
Czech Republic flew out of the traps like a side who knew how big an opportunity this was – facing the lowest-ranked side in the tournament – to pick up a vital three points in their quest to make it out of Group F.
They pummelled the Georgia box with crosses and created chances with a relentlessness that the tournament minnows struggled to withstand. By the 30-minute mark, the Czechs had attempted 12 shots, and hit the target with seven. With 15 minutes of the first half remaining, it was already the most shots on target by any team in a European Championship finals match since Belgium had eight against Hungary in the Euro 2016 round of 16.
And those numbers don’t even include a disallowed goal for the Czech Republic in the 23rd minute, after the VAR spotted that the ball had rebounded off Adam Hlozek’s arm on its way into the net.
But Georgia hung in there, with Giorgi Mamardashvili making as many saves (eight) by half-time as any other goalkeeper has in an entire match at Euro 2024 so far (Gianluigi Donnarumma and Thomas Strakosha have both made eight in a full game). Their resilience paid off.
Having barely made it into the Czech box all game, Georgia were gifted a penalty deep in first-half injury time, when Robin Hranác handballed following a cross from a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia free-kick. Georges Mikautadze confidently slotted home to score the latest first-half goal – clocked at 48:20 – in European Championship history and send Georgia into the unlikeliest of half-time leads.
The Czechs knew they needed a huge second half and they went all out for an equaliser.
Centre-forward Patrik Schick carried much of their attacking threat, and looked back to something close to the form that led to him finishing Euro 2020 as the joint-top scorer, with five goals. Having had four shots in the opening 20 minutes of the game – after failing to have a single one in the Matchday 1 defeat to Portugal – he had two more either side of half-time, and then eventually scored the equaliser with his seventh attempt of the game.
The goal made him Czech Republic’s leading scorer at the European Championship (six goals), though he will probably never have an easier finish, chesting the ball into an empty net from a yard out after Ondrej Lingr’s header had hit the post.
But he and his side were dealt a big blow when Schick, who has had his fair share of injury problems of late, limped off holding his calf midway through the second half.
Still they came, though, and still they peppered the Georgia box. With 15 minutes of normal time remaining, Czech Republic had already attempted more crosses (34) than any other side in a whole game at Euro 2024. They went on to reach 46 crosses in the match, with only nine successfully finding a player in white.
But they struggled to adjust without talisman Schick up front, and did not create many more chances of note after he had gone off. The stubborn Georgian low block stood firm, and despite facing tournament highs for shots (27), shots on target (12) and xG (3.1) so far at Euro 2024, they earned a historic first point at a major international tournament as an independent nation.
It might have been all three, too, had Saba Lobjanidze not put a golden chance over the bar with the very last kick of the game after Georgia made a rare break up the field.
The 24-team European Championship format has its problems, but it does mean a greater chance of stories like that of lowly Georgia playing on the grandest stage. After this result, they have kept up the slim possibility of extending their dream into the knockout rounds.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Georgia vs Czech Republic stats from their Euro 2024 Group F clash.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Georgia vs Czech Republic: Pre-Match Facts
- Nine yellow cards were handed out in the game between Georgia (4) and Czechia (5); the most in a match at the UEFA European Championship since the 2016 final between France and Portugal (10).
- Since losing three in a row between June and September 2023, Georgia have only lost two of their last nine games (W4 D3).
- Czech Republic recorded 12 shots on target against Georgia; the most by a team who failed to win the match at the UEFA European Championship on record (since 1980).
- Czechia trailed at half time against Georgia, despite having 11 more shots than them in the first half (13 for, two faced) – since 1980, only one side have outshot their opposition by more and still gone in behind at the break (16 shots, four faced – Russia 0-1 Greece in 2012).
- Patrik Schick is now Czechia’s top scorer at the UEFA European Championship, moving ahead of Milan Baros (5) with his sixth goal in the competition today.
- Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze became the sixth player to score both of his nation’s first two goals at the UEFA European Championship, and first since Andriy Shevchenko in 2012 for Ukraine.
- Georges Mikautadze’s opener for Georgia, scored from the penalty spot, was the latest first-half goal scored in UEFA European Championship history (48:20).
- Giorgi Mamardashvili made 11 saves for Georgia in this match with only one goalkeeper on record (since 1980) making more in a game at the UEFA European Championship: Latvia’s Alexanders Kolinko versus Netherlands in 2004 (12).
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