Georgia defeats Latvia to qualify for UEFA Nations League play-offs

The Georgian national football team has qualified for the play-off stage of the newly launched UEFA Nations League after winning their fourth match in their group at the tournament.

Managed by Vladimir Weiss, the team tops Group 1 of League D with four wins and 12 points after defeating Latvia on Tuesday.

The match saw Jaba Kankava, Vako Gvilia and Giorgi Chakvetadze score a goal each to see off the hosts in Riga, and earning passage to the play-off round for the team.

Jaba Kankava opened the score in the match on 8th minute. Photo: Georgian Football Federation.

The game was marked with the Georgian team’s continued control in both halves, with the three scorers leaving their mark on 8th, 29th and 61st minute.

Weiss told reporters following the fixture he was “happy” to see the team “achieve the goal of winning the group”, and said the game was “the best match” since the appointment of his coaching team in 2016.

The head coach also praised Chakvetadze, the author of the assist for Gvilia’s goal, as a player who “could become a true star of Georgian football”.

Georgia will play two more matches in the group, with a fixture against Andorra to be followed by the concluding game with Kazakhstan in Tbilisi.

Georgia’s head coach Vladimir Weiss praised the result following the match. Photo: Georgian Football Federation.

In the two matches, Weiss’ team will aim to gain enough points for an automatic qualification for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament — one of the bonus features of the Nations League competition.

The conclusion of the group stage will be followed by draws for the play-offs for the ongoing tournament, with semi-finals and final draws to follow late in the year.

Established last month, the Nations League replaces the calendar of friendly matches between national teams.

It is the third national competition following the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, and involves 55 teams competing for honours.

Georgia will face Andorra in the away match on November 15 and Kazakhstan on November 18.