Georgia are heading to the round of 16 at Euro 2024 in their first appearance at a major tournament.
Georgia stunned Group F winners Portugal 2-0 on Wednesday to secure third place in the group and a place in the round of 16. With victories in the first two games of the tournament, Portugal rested seven players who had started those games. Players like Bruno Fernandes, Pepe, Rafael Leão and João Cancelo started the game on the bench.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo was in the starting lineup and the Portuguese continued to be big favorites. And they didn’t stay tied with Georgia for long.
Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the second minute to put Georgia 1-0 up. Georgia doubled their lead in the 57th minute through Georges Mikautadze’s penalty. The penalty was awarded after a long video review which ended up earning Georgia the penalty.
Georgia qualified for its first European championship through penalty kicks in a playoff game against Greece. Georgia drew 0-0 with Greece and neither team scored in extra time. Georgia won the penalty shootout 4-2, however, and secured one of the final three spots in the 24-team tournament.
For a brief moment it looked like Georgia might finish second in Group F, but Turkey scored late to claim a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic. This was Turkey’s second victory of the tournament and they finished ahead of Georgia by six points. Georgia scored four thanks to a draw against the Czech Republic.
Slovenia, the Netherlands and Slovakia also advance
With 24 teams in the tournament and 16 teams advancing to the round of 16, the top four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16. Netherlands and Slovakia also picked up four points in group play along with Georgia, while Slovenia picked up three. Slovenia advanced ahead of Hungary thanks to a neutral goal difference. Hungary had a goal difference of -3.
Georgia’s victory means they will face Spain on June 30, on the second day of the round of 16. The knockout games begin on Saturday with Germany v Denmark and England v Slovakia.
The Netherlands will face Romania and Slovenia will face Portugal.
Romania won Group E on Wednesday with a draw against Belgium, while Ukraine drew with Slovakia. All four teams in that group finished with four points, but Romania and Belgium each had a goal difference of +1. Slovakia had a neutral goal difference and finished third, while Ukraine’s -2 goal difference meant they became the first team to finish fourth in a Euro group with four points.
Euro 2024 bracket and odds
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Spain x Georgia
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Germany x Denmark
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Portugal x Slovenia
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France x Belgium
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Romania x Netherlands
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Austria x Türkiye
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England x Slovakia
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Switzerland x Italy
As you can see, the top half of the stand is loaded. Spain, Germany, Portugal and France were the next four favorites, behind pre-tournament favorites England. And only one of them can reach the final.
England, in turn, has no excuses for not advancing to the final for the second consecutive Euro. Yes, England have struggled mightily so far in the group stage, with two drab goalless draws following a 1-0 win in the tournament opener. But England are far more talented than any other team on their side of the draw. And bettors still like the Three Lions’ chances.
England are still the favorites at BetMGM to win the tournament at +400, while Spain are at +450 along with Germany. France have also not impressed so far and are at +500 ahead of Portugal at +650.
There is a big difference with the Netherlands at +1200, and then Italy is at +1600 and Austria is at +1800. No other team has odds better than +2800 to win the tournament.
