Spain 4-1 Georgia: Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo score as Luis de la Fuente’s side come from behind to reach quarter-finals of Euro 2024

A much bigger challenge awaits Spain further ahead: the clash between eighth and Germany on Friday evening, which effectively looks like the final of the tournament under a different name. So it’s a good thing they’re going out with prodigies on both sides.

The 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who has taken centre stage on the right, has done little to downplay the significance of Nico Williams’ talent on the other flank, and in a moment of electricity last night he revealed what the hosts are up against.

A precise long ball into his path and the 21-year-old sprinted clear, leaving Georgia for dead with a ball into the roof of the net to cap off a challenging evening. The usual jig followed. This is how you get rid of a challenging, tireless counter-attacking opponent.

There was another sea of ​​St. George’s flags for the day, showing that the old hierarchies and certainties of European football are gone. Only this flow of red and white belonged to a people who actually believed and dreamed and gasped audibly as their side broke free and created the possibility of something unthinkable.

Georgia, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, led for 21 minutes, during which their players, some even then with socks around their ankles, threatened La Roja again and again with scripted counter-attacks; movements in three steps, from start to finish, with pinpoint accuracy.

Williams showed excellent composure as he found the net in the 75th minute

Fabian Ruiz is delighted after scoring 2-1 against Spain in their Euro 2024 match against Georgia

We will never know for sure how fateful a moment of Georgian inaccuracy – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s ball into Luka Lochoshvili’s path was not quite as measured as it might have been – was. But a two-goal lead was certainly conceivable in that dizzying opening period. Oh, the things that could have been.

It was incomprehensible that Spain were behind – Otar Kakabadze sent a cross from the right, which Robin Le Normand turned into his own goal, with Kvaratskhelia on his neck – given the inequality this match had brought to qualifying.

This match brought Spain full circle. Ten months ago, they arrived in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on a stormy night, in the middle of a qualifying campaign that had seen them defeated in Scotland.

Yamal, aged 16 years and 57 days, scored on his debut from the bench in a 7-1 win and Spain have not lost a league match since. But Georgia has been strengthened beyond belief by the victory over Portugal that brought them here.

They also had a goal and felt no less strong than the brave and dignified Ukrainian team that has now left this stage. The tournament coincides with the struggle at home against their government’s realignment with Russia. The players have expressed their feelings in their own desire for democracy and freedom.

None of it seemed to matter as the left winger duo of Williams and Marc Cucurella, who put in such an impressive performance against Italy, picked up where they left off in that match.

Williams was in charge early on, with the erratic Pedri operating between the lines and whipping in a shot that Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was alert to.

With the Georgians packing their box, this was a geometric puzzle for Spain, grappling with an age-old problem – the lack of a powerful striker – and as the struggle for a solution continued, they reverted to aiming from distance. Eventually, it worked.

Dani Olmo’s goal made it 4-1 for Spain and added even more sparkle to the score

Rodri scored in the 39th minute to level Spain against Georgia

Rodri’s goal caused jubilant scenes among the Spanish players, including on the bench

Georgia players celebrate after taking the lead following an own goal by Robin Le Normand

Spanish defender Le Normand unintentionally shot the ball into his own goal in the 17th minute

Eventually it worked – Rodri retrieved a ball from Williams and smashed it low past Mamardashvili – but not before Spain had been subjected to a tough physical test that left them frustrated. Williams was for a while unable to match the early threat he posed against the floundering Kakabadze. Rodri visibly urged his teammates to be calmer and take more time on the ball.

Aware of the danger Georgia posed in transition, Spain seemed reluctant to push as high as we find them in this tournament. Every opportunity seemed to be seized by the enterprising Georgians. Seeing Unai Simón off his line, Kvaratskhelia fired an effort from just inside his own half and saw the ball fly just wide of the post. The gasp at that moment. It looked as if the Georgian contingent were going to wither away.

Eventually the technical class gave the signal and Spain took the lead, when Yamal’s deftly weighted cross met Fabian’s well-timed run. Yamal was close to scoring himself, regaining possession on the edge of the penalty area, stepping between two defenders and shooting wide.

It was left to Williams to finish it off, then: sprinting after Ruiz’s long ball, passing Giorgi Gvelesiani as if he wasn’t there and smashing the ball home before the desperate defensive line could complete their retreat. Substitute Dani Olmo added the fourth with a low strike into the bottom left corner. The night’s early struggles looked a distant memory. It’s going to be a fearful week for the Germans, who lie in wait.