Sports Mole previews Saturday’s World Cup qualification clash between Spain and Georgia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Spain will be aiming to make it three wins from their three 2026 World Cup qualification matches when they continue their Group E campaign with a home fixture against Georgia on Saturday.
La Roja have six points to show from their two matches in the section, which has left them top, three points ahead of their second-placed opponents, who have won one and lost one of their two games thus far.
Match preview
Spain have been excellent in Group E thus far, opening their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on September 4 before thumping Turkey 6-0 three days later to make it six points from an available six.
La Roja are the overwhelming favourites to top their section, and they will be looking to post two more wins against Georgia and Bulgaria before facing the former again and Turkey in November.
Luis de la Fuente‘s side are the reigning European champions, beating England in the final of Euro 2024, while they famously won the World Cup in 2010, but the last three editions of the tournament have not gone as planned.
Indeed, La Roja were eliminated in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup before being knocked out in the round of 16 in 2018 and 2022, so there is plenty of room for improvement at the 2026 tournament.
Spain have won seven of their eight games against Georgia in all competitions, including a 4-1 victory when the two teams last locked horns, which came in the last-16 stage of Euro 2024.
Georgia, in their first-ever major tournament, proved to be the surprise package of Euro 2024, reaching the last-16 stage of the tournament, and they gained plenty of admirers along the way.
The Crusaders are now bidding to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time, and they have some incredible talents in their squad, namely Paris Saint-Germain superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Georgia opened their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a 3-2 home defeat to Turkey, but they bounced back against Bulgaria last time out, recording a 3-0 victory to move onto three points.
Willy Sagnol‘s side are second in the section, three points behind leaders Spain and level on points with third-placed Turkey, demonstrating the importance of this weekend’s match.
Georgia only win over Spain came in an international friendly back in June 2016, and they have since lost five straight games to La Roja, including a 7-1 thumping in a European Championship qualifier in September 2023.
Spain World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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Spain form (all competitions):
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Georgia World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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Georgia form (all competitions):
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Team News
Dean Huijsen has pulled out of the Spain squad due to a calf issue, with Aymeric Laporte earning a call-up, while Dani Carvajal, Rodri, Fermin Lopez, Gavi, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal are notable absentees through injury.
Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo could feature as the front three on Saturday, while there are likely to be spots for Arsenal duo Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino in the middle of midfield.
Pau Cubarsi and Pedro Porro could be the players to benefit from the absences of Carvajal and Huijsen, while Marc Cucurella is likely to be given the nod at left-back for the European champions.
As for Georgia, Kvaratskhelia has recently been absent for PSG due to a thigh injury, but it is understood that the attacker will be in the XI against Spain this weekend in a major boost for the visitors.
Giorgi Chakvetadze, though, is unavailable for selection due to an injury problem.
There are not expected to be any surprises when it comes to the Georgia XI, with Liverpool’s Giorgi Mamardashvili and Villarreal’s Georges Mikautadze set to be notable starters here.
Spain possible starting lineup:
Simon; Porro, Le Normand, Cubarsi, Cucurella; Pedri, Merino, Zubimendi; Olmo, Oyarzabal, F Torres
Georgia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Kakabadze, Kashia, Goglichidze, Azarovi; Gagnidze, Kochorashvili, Mekvabishvili; Davitashvili, Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia
We say: Spain 2-1 Georgia
Spain are missing a number of important players, and this will not be a straightforward match against a talented Georgia outfit. However, we are expecting La Roja to put another three points on the board on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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