Georgia national football team

Georgia

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 (110)
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
FIFA ranking
Current	77 (21 December 2023)
Highest	42 (September 1998)
Lowest	156 (March 1994)
First international
Unofficial Georgia 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	0

The Georgia national football team (Georgian: საქართველოს ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები, romanized: sakartvelos erovnuli sapekhburto nak'rebi) represents the country of 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, but have not achieved qualification yet, although they came very close to Euro 2020. 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. In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Georgia had a disappointing run, with their only wins came over Gibraltar. Still, having finished first place in League D, Georgia was able to qualify for the country's first ever major playoff. 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.

Results and fixtures

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

As of 5 October 2023

Position	Name
Manager	Willy Sagnol
Assistant Manager	Adel Chedli Zurab Khizanishvili
Goalkeeping Coach	Davit Gvaramadze
Analyst	Irakli Chitauri Levan Zamtaradze
Fitness Trainer	Fabien Bossuet

Coaching history

As of 20 November 2023

Manager	Georgia career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Givi Nodia	1990	1	0	1	0	000.00
Giga Norakidze	1991–1992	4	2	0	2	050.00
Aleksandre Chivadze	1993–1996	24	9	1	14	037.50
Vladimir Gutsaev (caretaker)	1996	2	0	0	2	000.00
David Kipiani	1997	7	4	1	2	057.14
Vladimir Gutsaev	1998	5	3	2	0	060.00
Gigla Imnadze (caretaker)	1998	1	0	0	1	000.00
Vladimir Gutsaev	1998–1999	8	2	1	5	025.00
Johan Boskamp	1999	5	0	1	4	000.00
David Kipiani Revaz Dzodzuashvili	2000–2001	16	5	5	6	031.25
Aleksandre Chivadze	2001–2003	11	4	3	4	036.36
Ivo Šušak	2003	2	1	0	1	050.00
Merab Jordania	2003	3	1	0	2	033.33
Gocha Tkebuchava (caretaker)	2004	3	0	0	3	000.00
Alain Giresse	2004–2005	10	2	2	6	020.00
Gaioz Darsadze (caretaker)	2005	7	2	2	3	028.57
Klaus Toppmöller	2006–2008	24	7	4	13	029.17
Petar Šegrt (caretaker)	2008	2	0	1	1	000.00
Héctor Cúper	2008–2009	16	1	4	11	006.25
Temur Ketsbaia	2010–2014	40	13	9	18	032.50
Kakhaber Tskhadadze	2014–2016	10	3	1	6	030.00
Vladimír Weiss	2016–2020	47	16	15	16	034.04
Ramaz Svanadze (caretaker)	2020	1	0	1	0	000.00
Willy Sagnol	2021–	31	14	5	12	045.16

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Scotland and Spain on 16 and 19 November 2023.

Caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2023, after the match against Spain .

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Giorgi Loria	27 January 1986	78	0	Dinamo Tbilisi
12	GK	Giorgi Mamardashvili	29 September 2000	14	0	Valencia
17	GK	Luka Gugeshashvili	29 April 1999	1	0	Qarabağ
2	DF	Otar Kakabadze	27 June 1995	58	0	Cracovia
3	DF	Aleksandre Kalandadze	9 May 2001	2	0	Dinamo Tbilisi
4	DF	Guram Kashia (captain)	4 July 1987	110	3	Slovan Bratislava
5	DF	Solomon Kvirkvelia	6 February 1992	56	0	Al-Okhdood
13	DF	Giorgi Gocholeishvili	14 February 2001	8	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
14	DF	Luka Lochoshvili	29 May 1998	10	1	Cremonese
15	DF	Irakli Azarovi	21 February 2002	18	0	Shakhtar Donetsk
23	DF	Iva Gelashvili	8 April 2001	1	0	Spezia
6	MF	Giorgi Aburjania	2 January 1995	39	1	Hatayspor
9	MF	Zuriko Davitashvili	15 February 2001	32	6	Bordeaux
10	MF	Giorgi Chakvetadze	29 August 1999	22	8	Watford
11	MF	Giorgi Kochorashvili	19 June 1999	5	0	Levante
16	MF	Nika Kvekveskiri	29 May 1992	57	0	Lech Poznań
18	DF	Vladimer Mamuchashvili	28 August 1997	10	0	Dinamo Batumi
20	MF	Sandro Altunashvili	19 May 1997	4	0	Wolfsberger AC
21	MF	Anzor Mekvabishvili	5 June 2001	13	0	Dinamo Tbilisi
	MF	Levan Shengelia	27 October 1995	14	1	Panetolikos
7	FW	Khvicha Kvaratskhelia	12 February 2001	28	15	Napoli
8	FW	Budu Zivzivadze	10 March 1994	23	5	Karlsruher SC
19	FW	Davit Volkovi	3 June 1995	5	2	Sabah
22	FW	Georges Mikautadze	31 October 2000	22	9	Ajax

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	Lasha Dvali	14 May 1995	29	1	APOEL	v. Norway, 12 September 2023
DF	Saba Sazonov	1 February 2002	3	0	Torino	v. Norway, 12 September 2023
DF	Jemal Tabidze	18 March 1996	15	1	Unattached	v. Scotland, 20 June 2023
DF	Giorgi Gvelesiani	5 April 1991	0	0	Persepolis	v. Scotland, 20 June 2023
DF	Mamuka Kobakhidze	23 August 1992	5	0	Dinamo Batumi	v. Norway, 28 March 2023
DF	Davit Khocholava	8 February 1993	39	0	Copenhagen	v. Mongolia, 25 March 2023 INJ
MF	Gabriel Sigua	30 June 2005	2	0	Basel	v. Scotland, 16 November 2023 INJ
MF	Saba Lobzhanidze	18 December 1994	36	3	Atlanta United	v. Cyprus, 15 October 2023
MF	Otar Kiteishvili	26 March 1996	34	2	Sturm Graz	v. Cyprus, 15 October 2023
MF	Giorgi Tsitaishvili	18 November 2000	14	1	Dinamo Batumi	v. Norway, 12 September 2023
MF	Luka Gagnidze	28 February 2003	5	0	Dynamo Moscow	v. Norway, 12 September 2023
FW	Giorgi Kvilitaia	1 October 1993	35	6	APOEL	v. Scotland, 20 June 2023
FW	Giorgi Beridze	12 April 1997	8	1	Kocaelispor	v. Norway, 28 March 2023

Records

As of 19 November 2023

Players in bold are still active with Georgia.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Guram Kashia	110	3	2009–present
2	Jaba Kankava	100	10	2004–2021
	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–present

Top goalscorers

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	28	0.54	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–present
7	Giorgi Demetradze	12	56	0.21	1996–2007
	Levan Kobiashvili	12	100	0.12	1996–2011
9	Jaba Kankava	10	100	0.1	2004–2021
10	Georges Mikautadze	9	22	0.41	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
1930 to 1990	Part of the Soviet Union									Part of the Soviet Union
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									8	3	1	4	7	9	4/5
2002										8	3	1	4	12	12	3/5
2006										12	2	4	6	14	25	6/7
2010										10	0	3	7	7	19	6/6
2014										8	1	2	5	3	10	4/5
2018										10	0	5	5	8	14	5/6
2022										8	2	1	5	6	12	4/5
2026	To be determined									To be determined
2030
2034
Total		0/7								64	11	17	36	57	101	—

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
1960 to 1992	Part of the Soviet Union									Part of the Soviet Union
1996	Did not qualify									10	5	0	5	14	13	3/6
2000										10	1	2	7	8	18	6/6
2004										8	2	1	5	8	14	5/5
2008										12	3	1	8	16	19	6/7
2012										10	2	4	4	7	9	5/6
2016										10	3	0	7	10	16	5/6
2020										10	3	2	5	8	12	4/5 (PO runners-up)
2024	To be determined									To be determined
2028
2032
Total		0/7								70	19	10	41	71	101	—

UEFA Nations League

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

Statistics

Opponents	Win	Draw	Lost	Goals
Albania	8	4	3	23 - 13
Andorra	1	1		4 - 1
Armenia	3	2	2	14 - 8
Austria		1	1	2 - 3
Azerbaijan	2	2	2	8 - 6
Belarus	2	1	1	4 - 4
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1			1 - 0
Bulgaria	2	2	4	12 - 21
Cameroon		1		0 - 0
Croatia	1		2	3 - 4
Cyprus	4	1	3	12 - 8
Denmark		2	3	5 - 15
Egypt		1		0 - 0
England			2	0 - 4
Spain	1		6	4 - 19
Estonia	4	2	2	9 - 7
Faroe Islands	2			9 - 1
Finland		1	1	1 - 2
France		1	3	1 - 7
Germany			5	2 - 12
Gibraltar	6			19 - 3
Greece		2	7	6 - 17
Hungary	1		1	4 - 5
Iceland			1	1 - 3
Iran			1	1 - 2
Republic of Ireland		2	9	5 - 18
Israel	1	2	3	4 - 7
Italy		1	7	2 - 14
Jordan	1		1	3 - 3
Kazakhstan	3	2	1	7 - 4
Kosovo	1		1	2 - 2
Latvia	5	2	3	18 - 10
Lebanon			2	4 - 7
Liechtenstein	1			2 - 0
Lithuania	4	1	3	13 - 6
Luxembourg	2	1	1	5 - 2
Malta	6	2	1	12 - 5
Morocco			1	0 - 3
Moldova	4	4	4	17 - 14
Mongolia	1			6 - 1
Montenegro		1	1	1 - 2
Netherlands			1	0 - 3
New Zealand			1	1 - 3
Nigeria			1	1 - 5
Northern Ireland			1	1 - 4
North Macedonia	2	2	1	7 - 3
Norway		1	4	3 - 9
Paraguay			1	0 - 1
Poland	1		4	4 - 13
Portugal			1	0 - 2
Qatar	1			2 - 1
Romania	1	2	5	6 - 20
Russia	1	1	1	3 - 4
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1			3 - 0
Saudi Arabia	1			2 - 0
Scotland	2	1	3	6 - 7
Serbia			2	1 - 4
Slovakia	1		1	3 - 3
Slovenia	1	1	2	4 - 5
South Africa	1			4 - 1
South Korea		1		2 - 2
Sweden	1		1	2 - 1
Switzerland		1	3	1 - 7
Thailand	1			8 - 0
Tunisia	1	1		3 - 1
Turkey	1	1	3	5 - 12
Ukraine		3	6	6 - 16
United Arab Emirates			1	0 - 1
Uruguay	1			2 - 0
Uzbekistan	1	1		3 - 2
Wales	3	1	1	9 - 3
71 National Teams	89	58	132	338 - 396

Notable results

Date	Team	Result	Team
11 October 1995	Georgia	2–1	Bulgaria
10 September 1997	Georgia	0–0	Italy
11 October 1997	Georgia	3–0	Poland
1 September 2001	Georgia	3–1	Hungary
27 March 2002	Georgia	4–1	South Africa
30 April 2003	Georgia	1–0	Russia
15 November 2006	Georgia	2–0	Uruguay
7 February 2007	Georgia	1–0	Turkey
17 October 2007	Georgia	2–0	Scotland
26 March 2011	Georgia	1–0	Croatia
6 September 2013	Georgia	0–0	France
4 September 2015	Georgia	1–0	Scotland
7 June 2016	Spain	0–1	Georgia
8 September 2019	Georgia	0–0	Denmark
2 June 2021	Romania	1–2	Georgia
11 November 2021	Georgia	2–0	Sweden
5 June 2022	Bulgaria	2–5	Georgia

See also

• 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