The final early afternoon clash of Euro 2024 takes place on Saturday as we delve back into Group F where the two opening game losers battle it out in Hamburg when the tournament is on the line for Georgia and Czechia.
Both these sides offered positive showings in their first game in the tournament but when the final whistle blew they had nothing to show for their efforts in terms of a result. They head into this one knowing that losing could be fatal for their qualifying hopes.
Where to watch
The opening match of the three on Saturday will be shown live and in full on the BBC1 channel in the UK with the coverage beginning at 1.30pm ahead of the 2pm kick off.
Georgia
There was always a sense that Georgia had won by qualifying for this tournament for the first time but at the same time they were always going to want to do themselves justice now that they are here. They might have been beaten by Turkey in that opening game but they more than played their part in what was one of the matches of the tournament so far, if not the best one of it. You can pick faults with certain elements of their play but for a competition debut there have been plenty worse.
Plaudits are all well and good but Georgia go into this one knowing that if they want to extend their stay in the tournament then they have to pick up a result of some kind here. The fact that they face Portugal in their last game in the group probably means that they need to win this game. If that is to happen then they will need to tighten up in both boxes but they had no problem getting into the Turkey danger zone and that will certainly give them plenty of confidence.
Czechia
It is hard to know how to judge Czechia at the minute because I would imagine the tactics that they used in their first game against Portugal, where the overriding aim would have been containment in the hope of getting a draw which they were seconds away from getting, will be much different to the ones they will employ for the remainder of the group. The fact that they lost in heartbreaking fashion to Portugal probably dictates that they will need to come out and be on the front foot much more.
It was nearly so different for the Czechs though. When they took the lead in that first game they would have been dreaming of big things but it wasn’t to be. The first interesting thing to note for this one is how they have got over that late setback because they can’t afford to let that linger. There is still a good chance of getting out of the group if they can offer just a touch more in the attacking box and a win here would have them right back on track.
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Team News
There was nothing in that opening match that suggested that Willy Sagnol would need to make a raft of changes for this second clash. He is expected to go in with the same side unless an injury has been sustained in training.
You would imagine that Ivan Hasek will be looking for a more positive showing from his side here and in order to get that Antonin Barak could be given a start while Tomas Soucek might get a more advanced role in this one.
Betting
I have to say after the way Georgia played in their opening game I am really looking forward to watching them in this one to see if they can go again and if they can there is certainly a chance they get something out of this one. Czechia probably start their tournament here because even though they so nearly got something out of the game against Portugal, they will know that was the toughest game in the group and that if they were going to qualify the chances are it would have to be done via the last two games.
With both teams needing a result I think we are going to see goals in this one. I’m a little surprised that over 2.5 goals is such a good price. I suspect that is because we’ve had some tight matches in this second stage of the competition but I said when I previewed this group that I expected it to be high scoring and I haven’t changed my mind. We had a replica of this game on Friday when the two losers in Group D met knowing they needed a result to stay alive and Austria won that 3-1 and it was a really open game. I’m expecting similar here so over 2.5 goals will do for me.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with Spreadex
