Pretty much alive: Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze celebrates after scoring on a penalty kick during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal. – AP
BERLIN: Georgia coach Willy Sagnol and his team are not yet satisfied with their historic place in the last 16 of the European Championship.
“It’s not finished yet. I don’t want to go out. There’s a game against Spain to prepare for,” the Frenchman told France’s L’Équipe sports newspaper on Friday.
Gerogia, in their first men’s major football tournament, meet title favourites and three-times winners Spain on Sunday in Cologne.
“There will be a wall in front of us,” added Sagnol, under whose guidance the Georgians have lost four times in four games against Spain - including a 7-1 defeat.
Two days fewer to prepare than Spain also puts his side at a slight disadvantage, but Sagnol believes in his players after the 2-0 group-stage win over 2016 champions Portugal - Georgia’s first major championship victory.
“They are ready to do everything for their country. The only responsibility we had was to make the Georgian nation proud of their players. And I think we’ve done it the best way,” said Sagnol.
“We’re not just a battling team. We try to keep control of the ball in the individual phases.”
Sagnol believes there is less pressure on the underdogs.
“When you’re the small team, you know you have nothing to lose,” the Frenchman said. “It’s difficult when you’re France, when you’re England, when you’re Spain, when you’re Portugal, because you’re under pressure, because people expect you to win. — Agencies
