Spain 4-1 Georgia: Player Ratings as Fabian Ruiz and Nico Williams run riot in Cologne to send La Roja through | UEFA Euro 2024
Spain secured a dominant 4-1 win against Georgia in the round of 16 at UEFA Euro 2024 at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday, June 30.
Spain made a dominant start to the contest as they played most of their football in Georgia's half with an eagerness to score early. They had possession for 79% of the first period but took their time to get into full stride. La Roja found themselves a goal behind against the run of play after 18 minutes. Robin Le Normand deflected the ball into his own net to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
Being a goal behind, Spain took the initiative to attack more and attempted a whopping 17 shots in the first half. They found the leveler in the 39th minute after Nico Williams laid the ball off to Rodri, who struck it cleanly into the bottom-right corner with his weaker left foot. La Roja continued to push forward in search of a go-ahead goal but were denied by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The two teams were tied 1-1 at half-time.
Spain made a sharp start to the second half as they looked to make the most of the momentum they worked so hard to gain. Lamine Yamal burst into life on the right flank and provided an assist for Fabian Ruiz to make it 2-1 just six minutes after the restart. Both managers made a few changes in the minutes that followed as Georgia were pushed onto the back foot.
Ruiz continued to influence the game and played a lovely long ball to Nico Williams after Spain won the ball in their own half. Williams then beat one man before smashing his shot into the roof of the net to make it 3-1 after 75 minutes. Dani Olmo then added a fourth goal with a driven shot low into the goal from range after 83 minutes to put a seal on the result.
Spain saw off three minutes of added time to advance to the quarter-finals where they will face tournament hosts Germany. Having said that, let's take a look at their player ratings from tonight's game.
Spain Player Ratings
Unai Simon - 6.5/10
Simon did not make a single save but distributed the ball with 95% accuracy on a quiet night.
Daniel Carvajal - 7/10
Carvajal had a decent game on the right side of Spain's defence as he won two duels and made one clearance. He also played one key pass and one cross.
Robin Le Normand - 6.5/10
Le Normand made an unfortunate start to the game as he could not adjust his body in time and conceded an own goal after 18 minutes. However, he won five duels and made five tackles.
Aymeric Laporte - 8/10
Laporte won all three of his duels and made two clearances, including one last-man tackle in a sharp defensive display. He also played one key pass.
Marc Cucurella - 7.5/10
Cucurella showed incredible energy and commitment as he kept making overlapping runs to help advance Spain's play. He won seven duels and played two key passes.
Pedri - 7/10
Pedri passed the ball with 91% accuracy, including four key passes. He also attempted two shots, of which one was on target.
Rodri - 8.5/10
Rodri had an incredible game for Spain in the middle of the park and scored a lovely goal to level the contest in the first half. He won all six of his duels and also played two key passes.
Fabian Ruiz - 9/10
Ruiz had an incredible outing as he scored his team's second goal with a lovely finish and provided a tidy assist for their third. He also completed four dribbles and won four duels.
Lamine Yamal - 8/10
Yamal was electric on the right flank and showed great determination to get to the ball first in 50-50 situations. He provided an assist for Spain's second goal, completed three dribbles and won six duels.
Alvaro Morata - 6.5/10
Morata had a rather disappointing night as his only effort was wide of the mark and he also picked up a booking late in the first half.
Nico Williams - 9/10
Williams assisted Rodri's goal and scored one himself in the second half in a great performance. He completed 46 passes with perfect accuracy, including four key passes and one cross. He also completed three dribbles and won four duels.
Substitutes
Dani Olmo - 8/10
Olmo scored lovely goal to make it 4-1 and also played four key passes in a dominant second-half display by Spain.
Alejandro Grimaldo - 6.5/10
He replaced Cucurella and put in a decent performance.
Mikel Oyarzabal - 6.5/10
Oyarzabal replaced Morata but could not make much of an impact in front of goal and finished the game without attempting a shot.
Jesus Navas - 6.5/10
The 38-year-old veteran looked sharp during his time on the pitch after he replaced Carvajal late in the game.
Mikel Merino - 6.5/10
Merino replaced Ruiz late in the game and put in a decent shift.