Which Nations Will Make Their Debut at Euro 2024?

The only nation to make their debut this summer at the 2024 Euros is Georgia. After a long Play-off journey, Georgia finally get to compete in the top European competition with their golden generation of players.

The last nations to make their debuts at the Euros were Finland and North Macedonia who were both knocked out at the Group stage, with Georgia looking to make the jump to the knock-out stages.

Georgia did compete in the qualifiers in Group A where they took on Spain, Scotland, Norway and Cyprus. In eight games, Georgia only picked up two wins, two draws and four losses which left them on eight points, nine points from direct qualification to the tournament.

Therefore their place in the Play-offs was even more important and their only route to the Euros.

In League C of the Nations League, Georgia competed in Group 4 against Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Gibraltar. In six games, Georgia picked up five wins and one draw, leaving them unbeaten and on 16 points, winning promotion to League B.

This left them ranked 33rd in the Nations League which granted them advancement to the European Championships Play-offs. The draw saw Georgia in Path C along with Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg.

The Semi Finals of Path C saw Georgia take on Luxembourg. Budu Zivzivadze scored a goal in each half to give Georgia the 2 - 0 win and the spot in the Final against Greece.

The Final saw neither Georgia or Greece find the back of the net in normal time or extra time which sent the tie to penalties. Georges Mikayradze did miss his penalty for Georgia but misses from Anastasios Bakasetas and Giorgos Giakousmakis gave Georgia the 4 - 2 win in the shootout.

Georgia will compete in Group F at the Euros, against the likes of Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

Turkey vs Georgia: 18/06/2024

The first game of Georgia’s Euros campaign is against Turkey in Dortmund.

Georgia and Turkey have met five times in their history, with the first meeting coming back in a 2002 international friendly. Turkey do have the better record in this fixture with three wins in comparison to Georgia’s one win that came back in 2007, the other game ending in a draw.

The furthest Turkey has made it at the European Championship is the Semi Finals back in 2008 with a third-place finish. However, at the 2016 and 2020 Euros, Turkey crashed out at the Group stage.

Georgia vs Czech Republic: 22/06/2024

A trip to Hamburg sees Georgia take on the Czech Republic.

Georgia and the Czech Republic have never met in a professional game. However, the Czech Republic has a much better record in the European Championships. As Czechoslovakia they picked up one title and two third place finishes.

As the Czech Republic, they have competed in every tournament since 1996. Their first tournament as the Czech Republic saw them reach the Final, losing 2 - 1 to Germany. Since then the Czech Republic have reached the Semi Finals in 2004 and the Quarter Finals in 2012 and 2020.

Georgia vs Portugal: 26/06/2024

The last game of the Group stage sees Georgia take on Portugal.

Georgia and Portugal have played each other just once in an international friendly in 2008. Joao Moutinho and Simao both scored in the 2 - 0 win over Portugal.

Portugal have an impressive pedigree in the European Championships with three Semi Finals appearances, two Finals appearances and one title since 1984.

William Hill have Georgia with a 14/1 shot of winning Group F and a 11/1 shot of making the Quarter Finals, while SkyBet has Georgia at 500/1 to win the European Championships - the biggest odds of any side, while having them at 9/4 to make the Round of 16.

The current Georgia side boasts a lot of young talent that suggests that this may be the Golden Generation and their best shot of success in European competition.

The main man for this Georgia team is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The 23-year-old currently plays his club football in Italy with Napoli.

In the 2022/23 season, his first with Napoli, Kvaratskhelia made 43 appearances in all competitions and scored 14 goals. This season so far, Kvaratskhelia has made 42 appearances, including appearances in the Champions League, and has scored ten goals.

So far in his international career, Kvaratskhelia has made 29 appearances since 2019 and has scored 15 goals, including goals against the likes of Spain and Scotland.

In fact, his appearances have garnered a lot of attention across Europe with Liverpool and Barcelona interested.

Giorgi Mamardashvili is another key player for Georgia. The goalkeeper currently plays for Valencia in La Liga and has done since 2021.

Mamardashvili has made 33 appearances for Valencia this season and has kept 12 clean sheets, the fourth most in the Spanish League behind Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.

Mamardashvili has also only conceded 38 goals this season, an average of 1.15 goals a game. For Georgia, Mamardashvili has made 16 appearances. In the qualifiers, Mamardashvili conceded 18 goals in eight games.

Georges Mikautadze also impressed during the qualifiers, picking up three goals for Georgia.

Head coach Willy Sagnol will also be looking to make a splash with Georgia. In 33 games with the team he has 16 wins, five draws and 12 losses, giving him a win percentage of 48.48%.