Georgia national football team

Georgia

Nickname(s)	ჯვაროსნები jvarosnebi (Crusaders)
Association	Georgian Football Federation (GFF) საქართველოს ფეხბურთის ფედერაცია
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Willy Sagnol
Captain	Jaba Kankava
Most caps	Levan Kobiashvili & Jaba Kankava (100)
Top scorer	Shota Arveladze (26)
Home stadium	Dinamo Arena (54,549) Batumi Stadium (20.000)
FIFA code	GEO
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	85 1 (23 December 2021)[1]
Highest	42 (September 1998)
Lowest	156 (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 7–0 Armenia  (Tbilisi, Georgia; 30 March 1997)
Biggest defeat
Romania 5–0 Georgia  (Bucharest, Romania; 24 April 1996)  Denmark 6–1 Georgia  (Copenhagen, Denmark; 7 September 2005)

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 it 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. Home games are played at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi.

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,^[3] enabling Georgia to play competitive matches. The first of these came in September 1994, a 1–0 defeat to Moldova^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures[]

2021[]

Coaching staff[]

As of 15 February 2021

Position	Name
Manager	Willy Sagnol
Assistant Manager	Adel Chedli
Assistant Manager	Zurab Khizanishvili
Goalkeeping Coach	Davit Gvaramadze
Fitness Coach
Chief Analyst

Coaching history[]

As of 19 November 2019^[7]

Manager	Georgia career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Givi Nodia	1990	1	0	1	0	000.00
Giga Norakidze	1991–1992	4	2	0	2	050.00
Aleksandre Chivadze	1993–1996	24	9	1	14	037.50
Vladimir Gutsaev (caretaker)	1996	2	0	0	2	000.00
David Kipiani	1997	7	4	1	2	057.14
Vladimir Gutsaev	1998	5	3	2	0	060.00
(caretaker)	1998	1	0	0	1	000.00
Vladimir Gutsaev	1998–1999	8	2	1	5	025.00
Johan Boskamp	1999	5	0	1	4	000.00
David Kipiani / Revaz Dzodzuashvili	2000–2001	16	5	5	6	031.25
Aleksandre Chivadze	2001–2003	11	4	3	4	036.36
Ivo Šušak	2003	2	1	0	1	050.00
Merab Jordania	2003	3	1	0	2	033.33
Gocha Tkebuchava (caretaker)	2004	3	0	0	3	000.00
Alain Giresse	2004–2005	10	2	2	6	020.00
(caretaker)	2005	7	2	2	3	028.57
Klaus Toppmöller	2006–2008	24	7	4	13	029.17
Petar Segrt (caretaker)	2008	2	0	1	1	000.00
Héctor Cúper	2008–2009	16	1	4	11	006.25
Temur Ketsbaia	2010–2014	40	13	9	18	032.50
Kakhaber Tskhadadze	2014–2016	10	3	1	6	030.00
Vladimír Weiss	2016–2020	47	16	15	16	034.04
Ramaz Svanadze (caretaker)	2020–2021	1	0	1	0	000.00
Willy Sagnol	2021-	4	1	1	2	025.00

Players[]

Current squad[]

• The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Sweden and the friendly against Uzbekistan on 11 and 15 November 2021.^[8]
• Caps and goals as of 15 November 2021 after the match against Uzbekistan.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Giorgi Loria	(1986-01-27) 27 January 1986 (age 35)	71	0	Anorthosis Famagusta
17	1GK	Lazare Kupatadze	(1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 26)	2	0	Dinamo Batumi
–	1GK	Luka Gugeshashvili	(1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Qarabag FK
4	2DF	Guram Kashia (captain)	(1987-07-04) 4 July 1987 (age 34)	92	2	Slovan Bratislava
2	2DF	Otar Kakabadze	(1995-06-27) 27 June 1995 (age 26)	47	0	Cracovia
3	2DF	Davit Khocholava	(1993-02-08) 8 February 1993 (age 28)	33	0	Copenhagen
–	2DF	Lasha Dvali	(1995-05-14) 14 May 1995 (age 26)	22	1	Ferencváros
5	2DF	Guram Giorbelidze	(1996-02-25) 25 February 1996 (age 25)	10	0	Dynamo Dresden
13	2DF	Grigol Chabradze	(1996-04-20) 20 April 1996 (age 25)	7	0	Dinamo Batumi
16	2DF	Irakli Azarovi	(2002-01-21) 21 January 2002 (age 20)	6	0	Dinamo Batumi
14	2DF	Luka Lochoshvili	(1998-05-29) 29 May 1998 (age 23)	2	0	Wolfsberger AC
7	3MF	Jaba Kankava	(1986-03-18) 18 March 1986 (age 35)	99	10	Slovan Bratislava
	3MF	Valeri Qazaishvili	(1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 28)	57	11	Ulsan Hyundai
–	3MF	Valerian Gvilia	(1994-05-24) 24 May 1994 (age 27)	41	3	Raków
–	3MF	Nika Kvekveskiri	(1992-05-29) 29 May 1992 (age 29)	41	0	Lech Poznań
15	3MF	Giorgi Aburjania	(1995-01-02) 2 January 1995 (age 27)	28	1	Gil Vicente
9	3MF	Otar Kiteishvili	(1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 (age 25)	24	0	Sturm Graz
–	3MF	Saba Lobzhanidze	(1994-12-18) 18 December 1994 (age 27)	22	2	Hatayspor
10	3MF	Giorgi Chakvetadze	(1999-08-29) 29 August 1999 (age 22)	13	5	Gent
23	3MF	Zuriko Davitashvili	(2001-02-15) 15 February 2001 (age 20)	14	2	Arsenal Tula
18	3MF	Khvicha Kvaratskhelia	(2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 (age 20)	12	5	Rubin Kazan
21	3MF	Heorhiy Tsitaishvili	(2000-11-18) 18 November 2000 (age 21)	5	0	Chornomorets Odesa
18	3MF	Vladimer Mamuchashvili	(1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 (age 24)	3	0	Dinamo Batumi
–	4FW	Tornike Okriashvili	(1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 (age 29)	50	13	APOEL
11	4FW	Giorgi Kvilitaia	(1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 28)	34	5	APOEL
–	4FW	Davit Volkovi	(1995-06-03) 3 June 1995 (age 26)	2	1	Zira

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	Solomon Kvirkvelia	(1992-02-06) 6 February 1992 (age 29)	41	0	Metalist 1925 Kharkiv	v.  Romania, 2 June 2021
DF	Gia Grigalava	(1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 32)	34	0	Unattached	v.  Greece, 31 March 2021
DF	Jemal Tabidze	(1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 25)	14	1	Ufa	v.  Greece, 31 March 2021
DF	Mamuka Kobakhidze	(1992-08-23) 23 August 1992 (age 29)	2	0	Dinamo Batumi	v.  Greece, 31 March 2021
DF		(1998-01-24) 24 January 1998 (age 23)	0	0	Dinamo Tbilisi	v.  Greece, 31 March 2021
MF	Sandro Altunashvili	(1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 (age 24)	2	0	Dinamo Batumi	v.  Bulgaria, 8 September 2021
MF	Jaba Jighauri	(1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 29)	22	0	Dinamo Batumi	v.  Bulgaria, 8 September 2021
MF	Murtaz Daushvili	(1989-05-01) 1 May 1989 (age 32)	41	0	APOEL	v.  Bulgaria, 8 September 2021
MF	Giorgi Zaria	(1997-06-14) 14 June 1997 (age 24)	1	0	Dinamo Batumi	v.  Kosovo, 2 September 2021
FW	Georges Mikautadze	(2000-10-31) 31 October 2000 (age 21)	7	1	Seraing	v.  Sweden, 11 November 2021 INJ
FW		(1994-01-06) 6 January 1994 (age 28)	0	0	Dinamo Batumi	v.  Kosovo, 2 September 2021 INJ
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to an injury. PRE = Preliminary squad.

Records[]

As of 11 November 2021^[9]

Players in bold are still active with Georgia.

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
1930 to 1990	Part of the  Soviet Union									Part of the  Soviet Union
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									8	3	1	4	7	9	4/5
2002										8	3	1	4	12	12	3/5
2006										12	2	4	6	14	25	6/7
2010										10	0	3	7	7	19	6/6
2014										8	1	2	5	3	10	4/5
2018										10	0	5	5	8	14	5/6
2022										8	2	1	5	6	12	4/5
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total		0/7								64	11	17	36	57	101	—

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
1960 to 1992	Part of the  Soviet Union									Part of the  Soviet Union
1996	Did not qualify									10	5	0	5	14	13	3/6
2000										10	1	2	7	8	18	6/6
2004										8	2	1	5	8	14	5/5
2008										12	3	1	8	16	19	6/7
2012										10	2	4	4	7	9	5/6
2016										10	3	0	7	10	16	5/6
2020										10	3	2	5	8	12	4/5 (PO runners-up)
2024	To be determined									To be determined
Total		0/7								70	19	10	41	71	101	—

UEFA Nations League[]

UEFA Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	D	1	1st	6	5	1	0	12	2		40th
2020–21	C	2	3rd	6	1	4	1	6	6		42nd
2022–23	C	To be determined
Total				12	6	5	1	18	8	40th

Head-to-head record[]

As of 15 November 2021^[10][11]

Opponents	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Albania	14	8	3	3	23	13	+10	057.14
Andorra	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	050.00
Armenia	7	3	2	2	14	8	+6	042.86
Austria	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Azerbaijan	6	2	2	2	8	6	+2	033.33
Belarus	4	2	1	1	4	4	+0	050.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina					!—
Bulgaria	5	1	1	3	6	15	−9	020.00
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Croatia	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	033.33
Cyprus	6	2	1	3	6	7	−1	033.33
Denmark	5	0	2	3	5	15	−10	000.00
Egypt	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
England	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	000.00
Estonia	8	4	2	2	9	7	+2	050.00
Faroe Islands	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8	100.00
Finland	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
France	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6	000.00
Germany	5	0	0	5	2	12	−10	000.00
Gibraltar	4	4	0	0	13	2	+11	100.00
Greece	8	0	2	6	6	15	−9	000.00
Hungary	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	050.00
Iceland	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Iran	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Israel	6	1	2	3	4	7	−3	016.67
Italy	8	0	1	7	2	14	−12	000.00
Jordan	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Kazakhstan	6	3	2	1	7	4	+3	050.00
Kosovo	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00
Latvia	10	5	2	3	18	10	+8	050.00
Lebanon	2	0	0	2	4	7	−3	000.00
Liechtenstein	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Lithuania	8	4	1	3	13	6	+7	050.00
Luxembourg	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3	050.00
Malta	9	6	2	1	12	5	+7	066.67
Moldova	12	4	4	4	17	14	+3	033.33
Montenegro	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
New Zealand	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Nigeria	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4	000.00
Northern Ireland	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	000.00
North Macedonia	4	0	2	2	2	4	−2	000.00
Norway	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Poland	5	1	0	4	4	13	−9	020.00
Portugal	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Qatar	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Republic of Ireland	11	0	2	9	5	18	−13	000.00
Romania	8	1	2	5	6	20	−14	012.50
Russia	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	033.33
Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Scotland	4	2	0	2	4	3	+1	050.00
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Serbia	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Slovakia	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Slovenia	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1	025.00
South Africa	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
South Korea	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Spain	4	1	0	3	2	5	−3	025.00
Sweden	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	050.00
Switzerland	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6	000.00
Tunisia	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	050.00
Turkey	5	1	1	3	5	12	−7	020.00
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Ukraine	9	0	3	6	6	16	−10	000.00
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Uzbekistan	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Wales	5	3	1	1	9	3	+6	060.00
Total: 68 countries	257	79	54	124	293	358	−65	030.74

Notable results[]

Date	Team	Result	Team
16 November 1994	Georgia	5–0	Wales
7 June 1995	Wales	0–1	Georgia
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
20 August 2008	Wales	1–2	Georgia
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

See also[]

• Football in Georgia
• List of Georgia international footballers
• Georgia national football team results
• List of Georgian national football team captains
• Georgia national under-21 football team
• Georgia national under-19 football team
• Georgia national under-17 football team
• Georgia national futsal team
• Georgia national beach soccer team

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georgia national football team.

• Georgian Football Federation
• FIFA profile
• UEFA profile
• RSSSF archive of results 1990–
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Archive of results 1990–