Saniol: “I believe we will win Greece”

Agriculture and Hellas will duel in Tbilisi (26/03, 19:00) in the final of the playoffs Euro 2024with a prize of a ticket to the final stage of the competition that will take place in the stadiums of Germany.

In the press conference ahead of the big match, the coach of the home team, Willy Shaniolstated that his players are prepared and ready for the match, while he expressed his belief that the Georgia will emerge victorious and will advance to the final stage.

In detail, what Willy Shaniol said:

To prepare for the match: “We had more time to recover. After the match against Luxembourg, all the players are ready. We have a training session, we will try to see all the details and show our best with Greece. I don’t like to talk too much about the opponent – I prefer not to talk about our opponent and let’s work on our own stories that we can build».

For the winning mentality: “When we heard that we had to play against Greece, we already knew how difficult the game would be. They have good players. This is a final, so both want to win. A winning mindset means you want to win. I often tell my players that sometimes dreaming is not enough. My kids and my parents can dream too, but they can’t play. You have to do everything to succeed. My players have improved a lot, they are well prepared and ready to play this game».

For the possibility of extra time and penalties: “We were more than 60 minutes across from Luxembourg. I changed players. I believed the others coming in would have a winning mentality. We are ready for 120 minutes and I believe we will win. Chekvatadze and Khohorashvili trained and are ready. We are also prepared even for the penalty shootout because this scenario exists».

To read the players: “All players are ready, all 26 players and three left out. However, they are all ready to play in the first team. Unfortunately I can’t say the team for tomorrow. Everyone wants to win and everyone is ready to play. Contribute to the game. Individual success is not important, what is important is that a whole country wins».

For the team plan: “My reaction after the win against Luxembourg was this: I was happy with the team, we did everything perfectly. I want to be proud of our good performances. I told the players that what we were against Luxembourg was good. We have a plan for tomorrow, you mentioned a “recipe” but it doesn’t exist.

Otherwise I wouldn’t be a coach and I would start my own company selling this recipe. This is football, we won against Luxembourg, but we don’t know how the game will end in another game. I want us to work on it».

For the psychological part: “I don’t have a degree in psychology, but I’ll tell you the truth. If the children were under pressure then I would tell the specialists that we need a psychologist. Children are in control of their emotions and we know how to deal with stress and pressure, although we agree that sometimes it is necessary».

For the development that exists in the country’s football: “When you talk about improvement, you can’t judge by one game. We have to see the index over a wide range. In September 2020 we were in League D, now we are in League B together with England. We are not a team like England, we do not “beg”. Sweden are now in League C, but I’m begging them.

The growth that exists is impressive. Vladimir Weiss has done a lot. The federation and the players have done everything. Tomorrow we may win, we may lose, but we will feel that there is great improvement and progress. We will try to show this progress».

Kakabatze: “If there were a million tickets it would be sold out again”

On the players’ side, the Georgia defender, Otar Kakabatzespoke about the big match, expressing his impatience, while adding that if there were a million tickets available, again sold out would happen!

“Looking forward to tomorrow’s game. We all know what we can do for the country. There is a very good mood in the team and we are preparing for tomorrow’s match“, he initially said and continued:

“I want to say that I am very proud to play for this team. A team that can bring so much joy to the country. This team has a winning mentality, which has been proven time and time again. There were too many problems, too many things. It turned out the way we didn’t imagine, but we made it this far. The fact that so many people want to come to the stadium has a very positive effect. Most likely, even if there were a million tickets, they would all be gone. This will have a very positive effect on me personally and the team“, while he closed for his return Hvitsa Kvaratshelia:

“Kvara and the fans were not there to help us in the match against Luxembourg. These two factors are the biggest strength for the national team, which we lacked then. I have been playing in the national team for a long time now and the current team is the best».