Georgia national football team

The Georgia national football team (Georgian: საქართველოს ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები, romanized: sakartvelos erovnuli sapekhburto nak'rebi) represents the country of Georgia in men's international football matches, and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. The team have attempted to qualify for each major tournament from Euro 1996 onwards, but have not achieved qualification yet, although they came very close to Euro 2020. Home games are played at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Georgia women's national football team.

Georgia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)ჯვაროსნები
Jvarosnebi (Crusaders)
AssociationGeorgian Football Federation (GFF)
საქართველოს ფეხბურთის ფედერაცია
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachWilly Sagnol
CaptainGuram Kashia
Most capsGuram Kashia (108)
Top scorerShota Arveladze (26)
Home stadiumBoris Paichadze Dinamo Arena(minor), Adjarabet Arena(second), Mikheil Meskhi Stadium and Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
FIFA codeGEO
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
CurrentNR (26 October 2023)[1]
Highest42 (September 1998)
Lowest156 (March 1994)
First international
Unofficial
 Georgia 2–2 Lithuania 
(Tbilisi, Georgia; 27 May 1990)
Official
 Lithuania 1–0 Georgia 
(Kaunas, Lithuania; 2 September 1992)
Biggest win
 Georgia 8–0 Thailand 
(Tbilisi, Georgia; 12 October 2023)
Biggest defeat
 Georgia 1–7 Spain 
(Tbilisi, Georgia; 8 September 2023)

History

The history of the Georgia national football team began in 1990, when the team played their first international match against Lithuania, the first country to accept an invitation. The match was held on 27 May 1990 at national stadium. Georgia were coached by Givi Nodia. The friendly match ended in a 2–2 draw. This was the only match prior to the declaration of independence on 9 April 1991. Soon afterwards the team played another friendly match against Moldova.

The Georgian Football Federation became a member of both UEFA and FIFA in 1992,[2] enabling Georgia to play competitive matches. The first of these came in September 1994, a 1–0 defeat to Moldova[3] as part of the qualifiers for Euro 1996. Georgia finished third in their group, ahead of Moldova, Wales and Albania, but seven points behind second-placed qualifier Bulgaria.

Georgia failed to qualify for 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, obtaining 10 points and finishing in fourth place, level on points with Poland. At this time Georgia reached forty-second place in the FIFA World Ranking.

During UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying the Georgia national team won one match, drew two and finished at the bottom of the group with five points. This marked the beginning of a period of decline for Georgian football.

The team finished fifth (and last) with seven points in their qualifying group for Euro 2004, although they defeated Russia with a goal scored by Malkhaz Asatiani.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Georgia beat Albania 2–0 at home and Kazakhstan away 2–1. They finished sixth (second bottom) with ten points in Group 2.

Georgia were sixth out of seven teams in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group with ten points. They defeated Scotland 2–0 at home and the Faroe Islands 6–0 away and 3–1 at home.

Héctor Cúper became the manager of Georgia in August 2008. During the qualification round for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Georgia failed to win any matches and finished sixth (and last) with three points. Cuper didn't extend his contract, and on 6 November 2009 Temur Ketsbaia was appointed as the new manager of the Georgian national football team. Ketsbaia resigned as manager after a 4–0 defeat at home to Poland in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers on 14 November 2014, having previously stated he would do so before the match regardless of the result.

In June 2016, Georgia beat the two-times reigning European champions Spain 1–0 in their final pre-Euro 2016 friendly.[4]

In 2018, they were the first team to earn promotion in the new UEFA Nations League. They scored the event's first goal in a UEFA Nations League D game in Kazakhstan before beating Latvia twice and Andorra, with 2 games still to spare. In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Georgia had a disappointing run, with their only wins came over Gibraltar. Still, having finished first place in League D, Georgia was able to qualify for the country's first ever major playoff. Georgia managed to beat Belarus 1–0 and thus the hope to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020 increased, but it went in vain after the Georgians suffered a heartbreaking home defeat to North Macedonia in the decisive match and thus missed the opportunity to make a historic debut in a major competition.

Georgia showed improvements with a strong 2–0 win over Sweden at the 2022 World Cup qualification on 11 November 2021.[5]

Results and fixtures
Main article: Georgia national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
17 November 2022 Friendly Morocco  3–0  Georgia Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
20:00
Report Stadium: Sharjah Stadium
Referee: Adel Al Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

2023
25 March 2023 Friendly Georgia  6–1  Mongolia Batumi, Georgia
18:00
Report Batbold 31' Stadium: Batumi Stadium
Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
28 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Georgia  1–1  Norway Batumi, Georgia
18:00
Report
Stadium: Batumi Stadium
Attendance: 20,300
Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)
17 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Cyprus  1–2  Georgia Larnaca, Cyprus
20:45
Report
Stadium: AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis
Attendance: 3,763
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (Portugal)
20 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Scotland  2–0  Georgia Glasgow, Scotland
20:45
Report Stadium: Hampden Park
Attendance: 50,062
Referee: István Vad (Hungary)
8 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Georgia  1–7  Spain Tbilisi, Georgia
18:00
Report
Stadium: Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena
Attendance: 51,694
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
12 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Norway  2–1  Georgia Oslo, Norway
20:45
Report
Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Attendance: 23,665
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
12 October 2023 Friendly Georgia  8–0  Thailand Tbilisi, Georgia
20:00
Report Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
Attendance: 9,274
Referee: Rohit Saggi (Norway)
15 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Georgia  4–0  Cyprus Tbilisi, Georgia
15:00
Report Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
Attendance: 15,871
Referee: Rob Jones (England)
16 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Georgia  v  Scotland Tbilisi, Georgia
18:00 Report Stadium: Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena
19 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Spain  v  Georgia Valladolid, Spain
20:45 Report Stadium: José Zorrilla

2024
21 March 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Georgia  v Lowest-ranked team
20:45 Report

Coaching staff
As of 5 October 2023[6]
Position Name
Manager France Willy Sagnol
Assistant Manager Tunisia Adel Chedli
Georgia (country) Zurab Khizanishvili
Goalkeeping Coach Georgia (country) Davit Gvaramadze
Analyst Georgia (country) Irakli Chitauri
Georgia (country) Levan Zamtaradze
Fitness Trainer France Fabien Bossuet

Coaching history

As of 19 November 2019[7]

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for a friendly match against Thailand and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Cyprus on 12 and 15 October 2023.[8]

Caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2023, after the match against Cyprus.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Giorgi Loria (1986-01-27) 27 January 1986 78 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
12 1GK Giorgi Mamardashvili (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 12 0 Spain Valencia
17 1GK Luka Gugeshashvili (1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 1 0 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
2 2DF Vladimer Mamuchashvili (1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 9 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi
3 2DF Aleksandre Kalandadze (2001-05-09) 9 May 2001 1 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
4 2DF Guram Kashia (captain) (1987-07-04) 4 July 1987 108 3 Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
5 2DF Solomon Kvirkvelia (1992-02-06) 6 February 1992 54 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Okhdood
13 2DF Luka Lochoshvili (1998-05-29) 29 May 1998 8 1 Italy Cremonese
14 2DF Iva Gelashvili (2001-04-08) 8 April 2001 1 0 Italy Spezia
15 2DF Irakli Azarovi (2002-02-21) 21 February 2002 16 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
6 3MF Giorgi Kochorashvili (1999-06-19) 19 June 1999 3 0 Spain Levante
9 3MF Zuriko Davitashvili (2001-02-15) 15 February 2001 30 6 France Bordeaux
10 3MF Otar Kiteishvili (1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 34 2 Austria Sturm Graz
11 3MF Saba Lobzhanidze (1994-12-18) 18 December 1994 36 3 United States Atlanta United
16 3MF Nika Kvekveskiri (1992-05-29) 29 May 1992 55 0 Poland Lech Poznań
18 3MF Gabriel Sigua (2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 2 0 Switzerland Basel
19 3MF Levan Shengelia (1995-10-27) 27 October 1995 13 1 Greece Panetolikos
20 3MF Giorgi Chakvetadze (1999-08-29) 29 August 1999 20 8 England Watford
21 3MF Anzor Mekvabishvili (2001-06-05) 5 June 2001 11 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
24 3MF Sandro Altunashvili (1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 3 0 Austria Wolfsberger AC
7 4FW Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 26 12 Italy Napoli
8 4FW Budu Zivzivadze (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 22 5 Germany Karlsruher SC
22 4FW Georges Mikautadze (2000-10-31) 31 October 2000 20 9 Netherlands Ajax
23 4FW Davit Volkovi (1995-06-03) 3 June 1995 5 2 Azerbaijan Sabah

Recent call-ups

The following players have not been called up for the upcoming matches but have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Lasha Dvali (1995-05-14) 14 May 1995 29 1 Cyprus APOEL v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
DF Giorgi Gocholeishvili (2001-02-14) 14 February 2001 7 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
DF Saba Sazonov (2002-02-01) 1 February 2002 3 0 Italy Torino v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
DF Otar Kakabadze (1995-06-27) 27 June 1995 56 0 Poland Cracovia v.  Scotland, 20 June 2023
DF Jemal Tabidze (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 15 1 Unattached v.  Scotland, 20 June 2023
DF Giorgi Gvelesiani (1991-04-05) 5 April 1991 0 0 Iran Persepolis v.  Scotland, 20 June 2023
DF Mamuka Kobakhidze (1992-08-23) 23 August 1992 5 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi v.  Norway, 28 March 2023
DF Davit Khocholava (1993-02-08) 8 February 1993 39 0 Denmark Copenhagen v.  Mongolia, 25 March 2023 INJ
MF Giorgi Aburjania (1995-01-02) 2 January 1995 39 1 Turkey Hatayspor v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
MF Heorhiy Tsitaishvili (2000-11-18) 18 November 2000 14 1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
MF Luka Gagnidze (2003-02-28) 28 February 2003 5 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
FW Giorgi Kvilitaia (1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 35 6 Cyprus APOEL v.  Scotland, 20 June 2023
FW Giorgi Beridze (1997-04-12) 12 April 1997 8 1 Turkey Kocaelispor v.  Norway, 28 March 2023

Records
As of 15 October 2023[9]
Players in bold are still active with Georgia.

Most appearances
Guram Kashia is Georgia's most capped player with 107 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Guram Kashia 108 3 2009–present
2 Jaba Kankava 100 10 2004–2021
Levan Kobiashvili 100 12 1996–2011
4 Zurab Khizanishvili 92 1 1999–2015
5 Kakha Kaladze 83 1 1996–2011
6 Giorgi Loria 78 0 2008–present
7 Giorgi Nemsadze 69 0 1992–2004
8 Aleksandre Iashvili 67 15 1996–2011
9 Gocha Jamarauli 62 6 1994–2004
Valeri Qazaishvili 62 13 2014–present

Top goalscorers
Shota Arveladze is Georgia's top scorer with 26 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Shota Arveladze 26 61 0.43 1992–2007
2 Temur Ketsbaia 17 52 0.33 1990–2003
3 Aleksandre Iashvili 15 67 0.22 1996–2011
4 Tornike Okriashvili 13 50 0.26 2010–present
Valeri Qazaishvili 13 62 0.21 2014–present
6 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 12 26 0.46 2020–present
Giorgi Demetradze 12 56 0.21 1996–2007
Levan Kobiashvili 12 100 0.12 1996–2011
9 Jaba Kankava 10 100 0.1 2004–2021
10 Georges Mikautadze 9 20 0.45 2021–present
Mikheil Kavelashvili 9 46 0.2 1991–2002

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
Uruguay 1930 to Italy 1990 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
United States 1994 Did not enter Did not enter
France 1998 Did not qualify 8314794/5
South Korea Japan 2002 831412123/5
Germany 2006 1224614256/7
South Africa 2010 100377196/6
Brazil 2014 81253104/5
Russia 2018 100558145/6
Qatar 2022 82156124/5
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total0/76411173657101—

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
France 1960 to Sweden 1992 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
England 1996 Did not qualify 1050514133/6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 101278186/6
Portugal 2004 82158145/5
Austria Switzerland 2008 1231816196/7
Poland Ukraine 2012 10244795/6
France 2016 1030710165/6
European Union 2020 103258124/5 (PO runners-up)
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028
Italy Turkey 2032
Total0/77019104171101—

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Year League Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 1 1st6510122Rise40th
2020–21 C 2 3rd614166Same position42nd
2022–23 C 4 1st6510163Rise33rd
2024–25 B To be determined
Total 18 11 6 1 34 11 33rd

Statistics
Opponents Win Draw Lost Goals
 Albania 8 4 3 23 - 13
 Andorra 1 1 4 - 1
 Armenia 3 2 2 14 - 8
 Austria 1 1 2 - 3
 Azerbaijan 2 2 2 8 - 6
 Belarus 2 1 1 4 - 4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 - 0
 Bulgaria 2 2 4 12 - 21
 Cameroon 1 0 - 0
 Croatia 1 2 3 - 4
 Cyprus 4 1 3 12 - 8
 Denmark 2 3 5 - 15
 Egypt 1 0 - 0
 England 2 0 - 4
 Spain 1 5 3 - 16
 Estonia 4 2 2 9 - 7
 Faroe Islands 2 9 - 1
 Finland 1 1 1 - 2
 France 1 3 1 - 7
 Germany 5 2 - 12
 Gibraltar 6 19 - 3
 Greece 2 7 6 - 17
 Hungary 1 1 4 - 5
 Iceland 1 1 - 3
 Iran 1 1 - 2
 Republic of Ireland 2 9 5 - 18
 Israel 1 2 3 4 - 7
 Italy 1 7 2 - 14
 Jordan 1 1 3 - 3
 Kazakhstan 3 2 1 7 - 4
 Kosovo 1 1 2 - 2
 Latvia 5 2 3 18 - 10
 Lebanon 2 4 - 7
 Liechtenstein 1 2 - 0
 Lithuania 4 1 3 13 - 6
 Luxembourg 2 1 1 5 - 2
 Malta 6 2 1 12 - 5
 Morocco 1 0 - 3
 Moldova 4 4 4 17 - 14
 Mongolia 1 6 - 1
 Montenegro 1 1 1 - 2
 Netherlands 1 0 - 3
 New Zealand 1 1 - 3
 Nigeria 1 1 - 5
 Northern Ireland 1 1 - 4
 North Macedonia 2 2 1 7 - 3
 Norway 1 4 3 - 9
 Paraguay 1 0 - 1
 Poland 1 4 4 - 13
 Portugal 1 0 - 2
 Qatar 1 2 - 1
 Romania 1 2 5 6 - 20
 Russia 1 1 1 3 - 4
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 3 - 0
 Saudi Arabia 1 2 - 0
 Scotland 2 3 4 - 5
 Serbia 2 1 - 4
 Slovakia 1 1 3 - 3
 Slovenia 1 1 2 4 - 5
 South Africa 1 4 - 1
 South Korea 1 2 - 2
 Sweden 1 1 2 - 1
  Switzerland 1 3 1 - 7
 Thailand 1 8 - 0
 Tunisia 1 1 3 - 1
 Turkey 1 1 3 5 - 12
 Ukraine 3 6 6 - 16
 United Arab Emirates 1 0 - 1
 Uruguay 1 2 - 0
 Uzbekistan 1 1 3 - 2
 Wales 3 1 1 9 - 3
71 National Teams [10]8958131335 - 391

Notable results
See also: Georgia national football team results (1990–2019)
Date Team Result Team
11 October 1995  Georgia 2–1  Bulgaria
10 September 1997  Georgia 0–0  Italy
11 October 1997  Georgia 3–0  Poland
1 September 2001  Georgia 3–1  Hungary
27 March 2002  Georgia 4–1  South Africa
30 April 2003  Georgia 1–0  Russia
15 November 2006  Georgia 2–0  Uruguay
7 February 2007  Georgia 1–0  Turkey
17 October 2007  Georgia 2–0  Scotland
26 March 2011  Georgia 1–0  Croatia
6 September 2013  Georgia 0–0  France
4 September 2015  Georgia 1–0  Scotland
7 June 2016  Spain 0–1  Georgia
8 September 2019  Georgia 0–0  Denmark
2 June 2021  Romania 1–2  Georgia
11 November 2021  Georgia 2–0  Sweden
5 June 2022  Bulgaria 2–5  Georgia

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. "Georgian Football Federation". UEFA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  3. "Georgia – International Results". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  4. "Spain fall to Georgia in final friendly ahead of Euro 2016". ESPN FC. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. "Sweden shocker in Georgia opens door for Spain". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. "Მწვრთნელები - ეროვნული ნაკრები". Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  7. "Georgia national team managers". eu-football.info. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. "საქართველოს ნაკრების შემადგენლობა ოქტომბრის მატჩებისთვის". Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  9. Mamrud, Roberto. "Georgia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  10. "Georgia's overall record against each of their opponents". AFS. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
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