It was a definite David versus Goliath kind of game, with lowly Georgia trying to get anything they could out of this Euro 2016 qualifying match against defending World Cup champions Germany. In the end, they had to settle for being proud to keep Germany off the scoreboard for almost 40 minutes before being smacked down and put to the sword to the tune of a 2-0 loss.
Georgia vs. Germany, Euro 2016 qualifying: Final score 0-2, Die Mannschaft slap Georgia aside en route to win
Georgia made a brave stand of it, but couldn’t hold off the relentless attack of Germany forever in their European Championship qualifying match.
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The first half started with a bit of a down-note for Georgia, with veteran defender Alexander Amisulashvili going down injured after Germany’s first attack, and having to be subbed off shortly after. Despite the setback, they held out bravely, keeping Germany’s insistent attacks just at bay and even causing occasional problems going forward themselves.
Georgia held out for 38 brave minutes, but against a team as good as Germany, it was only a matter of time before they found a breakthrough. In the 39th minute it came, with Mario Götze fighting through a pack of defenders, slithering through challenges before laying off to Marco Reus, who had run up in support. The move caught goalkeeper Giorgi Loria off-guard, and that gave Reus all the space and opportunity he needed to slot home and give Germany the lead.
Five minutes later, it was Thomas Müller weaving through traffic, actually using a defender to knock the ball off to find a larger pocket of space before hammering the ball past Loria to put Germany up 2-0. After such a wonderful start for Georgia in the match, it was almost sad to see them concede two goals so quickly, but it was inevitable against Joachim Löw’s titanic attack.
The second half was more of the same from the first: Germany dominating the ball, pulling all the strings, but struggling to break through numerous and determined Georgian defenders. As the half wore on, Georgia dropped deeper and deeper, bringing almost everyone behind the ball while Germany tried to find a way through the wall thrown up against them.
They had a few decent chances, with Reus hitting the bar and both Toni Kroos and Mesut Özil getting a couple good tries from range away, but no matter how delightful their passing was, Germany couldn’t quite get that last ball to create true danger. Not that it mattered, as they lead comfortably and with Georgia completely incapable of generating a real threat to that lead.
In the end it was an easy win for Germany, if perhaps not as pronounced of one as German fans were hoping for. The result allows them to keep pace with the chaos at the top of their qualifying group, and may even see them pull closer to group leaders Poland depending on the result of their match with Ireland later on. Georgia can take solace in the fact that, while they're realistically out of any contention for a qualifying place, at least they're better off than poor Gibraltar.
Georgia: Giorgi Loria; Ucha Lobzhanidze, Saba Kverkvelia, Alexander Amisulashvili (Lasha Dvali 4'), Guram Kashia, Georgi Navalovski; Aleksandr Kobakhidze, Jaba Kankava, Kakhi Makharadze (Levan Kenia 63'), Tornike Okriashvili (Giorgi Chanturia 47'); Levan Mchedlidze
Goals: None
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Sebastian Rudy, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Jonas Hector; Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos; Thomas Müller (Andre Schürrle 86'), Mesut Özil, Marco Reus; Mario Götze (Lukas Podolski 87')
Goals: Reus (39’), Müller (44’)
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