| Given the effort shown so far, both teams would certainly have deserved a place in the knockout phase, but who can secure the exclusive rights to the three all-important points this afternoon. Georgia and the Czech Republic will play for victory, as a single point would simply be far too little given their respective starting positions and the remaining schedule. This particularly applies to the European Championship debutants, who will then have to face the Portugal, who are probably simply too far ahead in terms of quality, at the end of the group. This is the first ever meeting between Georgia and the Czech Republic. However, the Czechs are extremely good when it comes to such firsts. The Czech Republic has won five of its last six games in which it faced another nation for the first time, with the exception of a 2-1 defeat to Kosovo in the most recent such encounter in September 2019. The Georgians in particular know that they will only have a tiny chance against Portugal, so the team will have to put everything on the line on the second matchday. The Czechs also have to deviate from their defensive style of play. Firstly, because the situation now requires it, and secondly because the Caucasians do not have a midfield axis as fearsome as Portugal. |
