Euro U21: Three gems joining Kvaratskhelia in Georgia’s emerging golden generation – scout report

Georgia Under 21s have picked up some impressive results in their debut U21 European Championships campaign. The hosts have seen record crowds come out to support them as they topped Group A thanks to a victory over Portugal and two draws with Belgium and The Netherlands. Although their tournament ended with a loss on penalties to Israel, the U21 Euros has seen excellent displays from a vast array of talented young Georgian players.

Whilst many media outlets are commenting that Georgias results were something of a surprise, and maybe they were. Truthfully, if we look at the bigger picture, we can see a renaissance of Georgian football taking place. The dazzling displays of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for Napoli in their Serie A winning season has shone more of a light on Georgian players; however, there are plenty of other talented Georgian players emerging from the Erovnuli Liga and beyond. 

In this tactical analysis which will take the form of a scout report, we will look into three players that have the potential to fuel an entire golden generation for the national team. We will analyse how these players are utilised in the tactics their coaches use at club level. Additionally, we will provide an analysis of their overall style of play and the skillset each player possesses.

Giorgi Moistsrapishvili  Dinamo Tbilisi

The first player we are going to look at in this tactical analysis is Dinamo Tbilisi midfielder Giorgi Moistsrapishvili. The 21-year-old has impressed at club level when given opportunities this season and is proving that he can go on to be an essential player for Georgia. The young midfielder is able to play as a traditional box-to-box central midfielder, in a more defensive position or as a number 10, which is where he has been playing for Georgia U21s at the Euros this summer. 

The pizza chart above allows us to compare Moistsrapishvili to players who play in the same position as him in the Erovnuli Liga this season. Firstly, we can clearly see that he struggles aerially as he fails to win most of his aerial duels, which is interesting for a player who is 183cm tall. However, we can understand that Moistsreapishvili is able to showcase good defensive positioning, which means that he is in the right place at the right time to intercept the ball and make tackles to halt the oppositions attacks.