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Georgia national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Georgia women's national football team.
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Georgia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) ჯვაროსნები
Jvarosnebi (Crusaders)
Association Georgian Football Federation (GFF)
საქართველოს ფეხბურთის ფედერაცია
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Willy Sagnol
Captain Guram Kashia
Most caps Guram Kashia (112)
Top scorer Shota Arveladze (26)
Home stadium Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena (minor), Adjarabet Arena (second), Mikheil Meskhi Stadium and Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
FIFA code GEO
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 91 Decrease 2 (7 February 2019)
Highest 42 (September 1998)
Lowest 156 (March 1994)
Elo ranking
Current 69 Increase 16 (3 March 2019)
Highest 49 (11 October 1995)
Lowest 108 (late 2009)
First international
Unofficial
Georgian SSR 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)
European Championship
Appearances 1 (first in 2024)
Best result TBD (2024)

The Georgia national football team (Georgian: საქართველოს ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები, romanized: sakartvelos erovnuli sapekhburto nak'rebi) represents 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, with their first participation set to be at UEFA Euro 2024. 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, enabling Georgia to play competitive matches. The first of these came in September 1994, a 1–0 defeat to Moldova 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.

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 and earned their first-ever playoff berth. In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Georgia had a disappointing run, with their only two wins came over Gibraltar. In the Path D playoff semi-final, 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. They continued their improvement by winning the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C Group 4, getting promoted to 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B, and qualified for their second-ever play-off berth. Georgia won 2–0 against Luxembourg, earning them a spot in the final of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. They defeated Greece 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the playoff final, which guaranteed Georgia's qualification for Euro 2024 and their first ever international tournament.

Results and fixtures

Main page: 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

2023

2024

Coaching staff

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 28 March 2024

Players

Current squad

The following players were called for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs.

Caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2024, after the match against Greece.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Giorgi Loria (1986-01-27) 27 January 1986 (age 38) 78 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
12 1GK Giorgi Mamardashvili (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 (age 23) 16 0 Spain Valencia
23 1GK Luka Gugeshashvili (1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 24) 1 0 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
2 2DF Otar Kakabadze (1995-06-27) 27 June 1995 (age 28) 60 0 Poland Cracovia
3 2DF Lasha Dvali (1995-05-14) 14 May 1995 (age 28) 31 1 Cyprus APOEL
4 2DF Guram Kashia (captain) (1987-07-04) 4 July 1987 (age 36) 112 3 Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
5 2DF Solomon Kvirkvelia (1992-02-06) 6 February 1992 (age 32) 58 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Okhdood
13 2DF Giorgi Gocholeishvili (2001-02-14) 14 February 2001 (age 23) 8 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
14 2DF Luka Lochoshvili (1998-05-29) 29 May 1998 (age 25) 10 1 Italy Cremonese
15 2DF Giorgi Gvelesiani (1991-04-05) 5 April 1991 (age 33) 0 0 Iran Persepolis
2DF Vladimer Mamuchashvili (1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 (age 26) 10 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi
2DF Saba Sazonov (2002-02-01) 1 February 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Italy Torino
6 3MF Giorgi Kochorashvili (1999-06-19) 19 June 1999 (age 24) 7 0 Spain Levante
9 3MF Zuriko Davitashvili (2001-02-15) 15 February 2001 (age 23) 34 6 France Bordeaux
10 3MF Giorgi Chakvetadze (1999-08-29) 29 August 1999 (age 24) 24 8 England Watford
16 3MF Nika Kvekveskiri (1992-05-29) 29 May 1992 (age 31) 59 0 Poland Lech Poznań
17 3MF Otar Kiteishvili (1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 (age 28) 36 2 Austria Sturm Graz
18 3MF Sandro Altunashvili (1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 (age 26) 4 0 Austria Wolfsberger AC
19 3MF Levan Shengelia (1995-10-27) 27 October 1995 (age 28) 16 1 Greece Panetolikos
20 3MF Jaba Kankava (1986-03-18) 18 March 1986 (age 38) 101 10 Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
21 3MF Giorgi Tsitaishvili (2000-11-18) 18 November 2000 (age 23) 16 1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi
3MF Anzor Mekvabishvili (2001-06-05) 5 June 2001 (age 22) 13 0 Romania Universitatea Craiova
7 4FW Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 (age 23) 29 15 Italy Napoli
8 4FW Budu Zivzivadze (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 (age 30) 25 7 Germany Karlsruher SC
11 4FW Giorgi Kvilitaia (1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 30) 37 6 Cyprus APOEL
22 4FW Georges Mikautadze (2000-10-31) 31 October 2000 (age 23) 24 9 France Metz

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 Irakli Azarovi (2002-02-21) 21 February 2002 (age 22) 18 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk v.  Spain, 19 November 2023
DF Aleksandre Kalandadze (2001-05-09) 9 May 2001 (age 22) 2 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v.  Spain, 19 November 2023
DF Iva Gelashvili (2001-04-08) 8 April 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Italy Spezia v.  Spain, 19 November 2023
DF Jemal Tabidze (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 28) 15 1 Greece Panetolikos v.  Scotland, 20 June 2023
MF Giorgi Aburjania (1995-01-02) 2 January 1995 (age 29) 39 1 Turkey Hatayspor v.  Spain, 19 November 2023
MF Gabriel Sigua (2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 (age 18) 2 0 Switzerland Basel v.  Scotland, 16 November 2023 INJ
MF Saba Lobzhanidze (1994-12-18) 18 December 1994 (age 29) 36 3 United States Atlanta United v.  Cyprus, 15 October 2023
MF Luka Gagnidze (2003-02-28) 28 February 2003 (age 21) 5 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow v.  Norway, 12 September 2023
FW Davit Volkovi (1995-06-03) 3 June 1995 (age 28) 5 2 Azerbaijan Sabah v.  Spain, 19 November 2023

Records

Players in bold are still active with Georgia.

Most appearances

Geo Team (Kashia)
Guram Kashia is Georgia's most capped player with 110 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Guram Kashia 112 3 2009–present
2 Jaba Kankava 101 10 2004–present
3 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 2014–2022

Top goalscorers

Shota Arveladze
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 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 15 29 0.52 2019–present
Aleksandre Iashvili 15 67 0.22 1996–2011
5 Tornike Okriashvili 13 49 0.27 2010–2021
Valeri Qazaishvili 13 62 0.21 2014–2022
7 Giorgi Demetradze 12 56 0.21 1996–2007
Levan Kobiashvili 12 100 0.12 1996–2011
9 Jaba Kankava 10 101 0.1 2004–present
10 Georges Mikautadze 9 24 0.38 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 FIFA member from 1992. Not admitted to the tournament. Not admitted to the tournament
France 1998 Did not qualify 8 3 1 4 7 9 4/5
South Korea Japan 2002 8 3 1 4 12 12 3/5
Germany 2006 12 2 4 6 14 25 6/7
South Africa 2010 10 0 3 7 7 19 6/6
Brazil 2014 8 1 2 5 3 10 4/5
Russia 2018 10 0 5 5 8 14 5/6
Qatar 2022 8 2 1 5 6 12 4/5
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/7 64 11 17 36 57 101 —

UEFA European Championship

Main page: Georgia at the 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 10 5 0 5 14 13 3/6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 10 1 2 7 8 18 6/6
Portugal 2004 8 2 1 5 8 14 5/5
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 3 1 8 16 19 6/7
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 2 4 4 7 9 5/6
France 2016 10 3 0 7 10 16 5/6
European Union 2020 10 3 2 5 8 12 4/5 (PO runners-up)
Germany 2024 Qualified 10 3 3 4 14 18 4/5 (PO winners)
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032
Total 1/8 80 22 13 45 85 119 —

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season League Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 1 1st 6 5 1 0 12 2 Rise 40th
2020–21 C 2 3rd 6 1 4 1 6 6 Same position 42nd
2022–23 C 4 1st 6 5 1 0 16 3 Rise 33rd
2024–25 B 1 To be determined
Total 18 11 6 1 34 11 33rd

Statistics

See also: Georgia national football team results (1990–2019)

The following table shows Georgia‘a all-time international record, correct as of 26 March 2024.

Opponents Play Win Draw Lost Goals for Goals Against
 Albania 15 8 4 3 23 13
 Andorra 2 1 1 0 4 1
 Armenia 7 3 2 2 14 8
 Austria 2 0 1 1 2 3
 Azerbaijan 6 2 2 2 8 6
 Belarus 4 2 1 1 4 4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 1 0
 Bulgaria 8 2 2 4 12 21
 Cameroon 1 0 1 0 0 0
 Croatia 3 1 0 2 3 4
 Cyprus 8 4 1 3 12 8
 Denmark 5 0 2 3 5 15
 Egypt 1 0 1 0 0 0
 England 2 0 0 2 0 4
 Estonia 8 4 2 2 9 7
 Faroe Islands 2 2 0 0 9 1
 Finland 2 0 1 1 1 2
 France 4 0 1 3 1 7
 Germany 5 0 0 5 2 12
 Gibraltar 6 6 0 0 19 3
 Greece 10 1 2 7 6 17
 Hungary 2 1 0 1 4 5
 Iceland 1 0 0 1 1 3
 Iran 1 0 0 1 1 2
 Republic of Ireland 11 0 2 9 5 18
 Israel 6 1 2 3 4 7
 Italy 8 0 1 7 2 14
 Jordan 2 1 0 1 3 3
 Kazakhstan 6 3 2 1 7 4
 Kosovo 2 1 0 1 2 2
 Latvia 10 5 2 3 18 10
 Lebanon 2 0 0 2 4 7
 Liechtenstein 1 1 0 0 2 0
 Lithuania 8 4 1 3 13 6
 Luxembourg 5 3 1 1 7 2
 Malta 9 6 2 1 12 5
 Morocco 1 0 0 1 0 3
 Moldova 12 4 4 4 17 14
 Mongolia 1 1 0 0 6 1
 Montenegro 2 0 1 1 1 2
 Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0 3
 New Zealand 1 0 0 1 1 3
 Nigeria 1 0 0 1 1 5
 Northern Ireland 1 0 0 1 1 4
 Macedonia 5 2 2 1 7 3
 Norway 5 0 1 4 3 9
 Paraguay 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Poland 5 1 0 4 4 13
 Portugal 1 0 0 1 0 2
 Qatar 1 1 0 0 2 1
 Romania 8 1 2 5 6 20
 Russia 3 1 1 1 3 4
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 1 0 0 3 0
 Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 0 2 0
 Scotland 6 2 1 3 6 7
 Serbia 2 0 0 2 1 4
 Slovakia 2 1 0 1 3 3
 Slovenia 4 1 1 2 4 5
 South Africa 1 1 0 0 4 1
 South Korea 1 0 1 0 2 2
 Spain 7 1 0 6 4 19
 Sweden 2 1 0 1 2 1
 Switzerland 4 0 1 3 1 7
 Thailand 1 1 0 0 8 0
 Tunisia 2 1 1 0 3 1
 Turkey 5 1 1 3 5 12
 Ukraine 9 0 3 6 6 16
 United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Uruguay 1 1 0 0 2 0
 Uzbekistan 2 1 1 0 3 2
 Wales 5 3 1 1 9 3
71 National Teams 282 90 60 132 340 396

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Georgia para niños

  • 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
  • Georgia National Football Team results
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