Georgia national under-21 football team

The Georgia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. It is considered to be the feeder team for the senior Georgian national football team. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years.

Georgia Under-21
Nickname(s)ჯვაროსნები
Jvarosnebi (Crusaders)
AssociationGeorgian Football Federation
ConfederationUEFA
Head coachRamaz Svanadze
CaptainGabriel Sigua
Most capsSaba Khvadagiani (31 games)
Top scorerGiorgi Guliashvili (8 goals)
FIFA codeGEO
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
First international
Georgia (country) Georgia 3–0 Moldova Moldova
(Tbilisi, 27 May 1994)
Biggest win
Georgia (country) Georgia 7–1 Malaysia Malaysia
(Vienna, 26 March 2013)
Biggest defeat
Ukraine Ukraine 6–0 Georgia Georgia (country)
(Chervonohrad, 12 October 2004)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances2 (first in 2023)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2023)
Websitenakrebi.ge

The current team is for Georgian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for Georgia at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s. This has been the case for several senior team players like Jano Ananidze and Levan Kakubava.

Although the breakup of the Soviet Union occurred officially on 25 December 1991, the under-21 team continued as Soviet Union until the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. After that, Georgia and the other countries who split from the Soviet Union like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine became separate footballing entities.

Georgia held its first official game in a 1996 UEFA European U21 Championship qualification campaign against Moldova. They made a debut in the final tournament of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2023 for which they automatically qualified as a co-host nation.

Despite the lowest rating points among the 2023 Championship teams, Georgia produced a main surprise on the tournament. They finished the group on top of the table and remained unbeaten after 120 minutes of a quarter-final clash with Israel as well, before eventually losing on penalties.[1]

Georgia fought hard to qualify for the 2025 Championship. As runners-up of Group C, they beat Croatia after a dramatic penalty shoot-out in play-offs.[2]

Georgia U21s do not have a permanent home ground and play in stadiums of Erovnuli Liga clubs across the country. The record attendance for their match was set on 1 July 2023 when Georgia played Israel in quarter-final of the European Championship in front of 44,338 spectators.[3]

Competitive record

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UEFA European U-21 Championship

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Year Round Pld W D* L GF GA
Georgia (country) Romania 20231/4 finals413053
Slovakia 2025Group310248

Note:

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Qualification

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  Runners-up    Third place   Tournament held on home soil  

Year Group Pld W D L GF GA
Spain 1996 Group 7 8 1 0 7 7 17
Romania 1998 Group 2 8 3 3 2 10 10
Slovakia 2000 Group 2 8 2 5 3 11 13
Switzerland 2002 Group 8 8 1 0 7 9 17
Germany 2004 Group 10 8 1 2 5 7 16
Portugal 2006 Group 2 12 3 2 7 7 22
Netherlands 2007 Group 3 2 0 0 2 1 4
Sweden 2009 Group 4 8 2 0 6 6 22
Denmark 2011 Group 2 10 4 3 3 12 9
Israel 2013 Group 5 8 3 1 4 8 18
Czech Republic 2015 Group 3 8 3 1 4 8 15
Poland 2017 Group 6 10 4 1 5 17 17
Italy San Marino 2019 Group 3 8 3 3 4 11 19
Hungary Slovenia 2021 Group 2 10 5 0 5 17 14
Georgia (country) Romania 2023Qualified as hosts
Slovakia 2025 Group C 10 6 1 3 14 10
AlbaniaSerbia 2027 Group F

Results and fixtures

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  Win   Draw   Loss

2024

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5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) UEFA Euro QR Georgia  3–0  Moldova Batumi
20:00 GEO Time
Report Stadium: Batumi Stadium
Attendance: 5,250
Referee: Radoslav Gidzhenov (Bulgaria)
9 September 2024 (2024-09-09) UEFA Euro QR Netherlands  3–1  Georgia Venlo
22:00 GEO Time
Report Stadium: Covebo Stadion – De Koel
Attendance: 3,458
Referee: Robert Schröder (Germany)
10 October 2024 (2024-10-10) UEFA Euro QR Sweden  3–2  Georgia Jönköping
20:00 GEO Time
Report
Stadium: Stadsparksvallen
Attendance: 1,620
Referee: Iwan Arwel Griffith (Wales)
15 October 2024 (2024-10-15) UEFA Euro QR Georgia  2–1  North Macedonia Kutaisi
20:00 GEO Time Report
  • Isaki 52'
Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Referee: Viktor Shimusik (Belarus)
15 November 2024 UEFA Euro play-off 1st leg Georgia  1–0  Croatia Tbilisi
19:00 GEO Time Soldo red-colored football 4' (o.g.) Report Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
Attendance: 9,372
Referee: Adam Ladebäck (Sweden)
19 November 2024 UEFA Euro play-off 2nd leg Croatia  3–2 (a.e.t.)
(6–7 p)
 Georgia Rijeka
22:00 GEO Time
Report Stadium: Stadion HNK Rijeka
Attendance: 2,575
Referee: Simone Sozza (Italy)
Penalties

2025

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22 March 2025 Friendly Finland  2–4  Georgia Belek
18:00 GEO Time Report Stadium: Gloria Sports Arena
25 March 2025 Friendly Serbia  1–3  Georgia Antalya
17:00 GEO Time Mitrovic 28' (pen.)
4 June 2025 Friendly Romania  1–0  Georgia Vorau
18:30 CET Borza 72' Stadium: Urkraft Arena
11 June 2025 (2025-06-11) UEFA Euro Poland  1–2  Georgia Žilina
21:00 Report Stadium: Štadión pod Dubňom
Attendance: 2,218
Referee: Alessandro Dudic (Switzerland)
14 June 2025 (2025-06-14) UEFA Euro France  3–2  Georgia Žilina
21:00
Report Stadium: Štadión pod Dubňom
Attendance: 3,687
Referee: Jakob Sundberg (Denmark)
17 June 2025 (2025-06-17) UEFA Euro Georgia  0–4  Portugal Trenčín
18:00 Report
Stadium: Štadión Sihoť
Referee: Elchin Masiyev (Azerbaijan)
9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2027 UEFA Euro QR Georgia  1–1  Northern Ireland Kutaisi
20:00
Report
Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Attendance: 3,260
Referee: Kamal Umudlu (Azerbaijan)
10 October 2025 (2025-10-10) 2027 UEFA Euro QR Latvia  1–1  Georgia Riga
19:00
  • Patika 59'
Report
  • Bukia 62'
Stadium: LNK Sporta Parks
Attendance: 312
Referee: Jérémy Muller (Luxembourg)
14 October 2025 (2025-10-14) 2027 UEFA Euro QR Malta  0–5  Georgia Ta'Qali
21:00 Report
Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Attendance: 203
Referee: Johann Ingi Jonsson (Iceland)
14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 UEFA Euro QR Greece  3–0  Georgia Athens
19:00 Report Stadium: Leoforos Alexandras Stadium
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Viktor Kopiievskyi (Ukraine)
18 November 2025 (2025-11-18) 2027 UEFA Euro QR Georgia  0–2  Germany Tbilisi
21:00 Report
Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
Attendance: 2,357
Referee: Ashot Ghaltakhchyan (Armenia)

2026

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27 March 2026 (2026-03-27) 2027 UEFA Euro QR  Georgia 1–1 Latvia  Kutaisi
19:00
Report
  • Strods 53'
Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Attendance: 1,390
Referee: Konstantinos Fellas (Cyprus)
31 March 2026 (2026-03-31) 2027 UEFA Euro QR  Georgia 4–1 Malta  Kutaisi
18:00
Report Ellul 2' Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Attendance: 3,125
Referee: Seth Galia (Gibraltar)
5 June 2026 (2026-06-05) Friendly  United States U20 1–0 Georgia  Blagoevgrad
18:30
Narimanidze football with red X '40 Stadium: Stadion Hristo Botev
9 June 2026 (2026-06-09) Friendly  Moldova 3–2 Georgia  Nisporeni
20:00
  • Lupan 45+2' (pen.)
  • Luchita 47'
  • Radu 62'
  • Kokhreidze 70'
  • Grigalava 73'
26 September 2026 (2026-09-26) 2027 UEFA Euro QR  Georgia v Greece 

2027 European Championship

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 7 6 0 1 22 4 +18 18 Final tournament 2–3 3–0 6 Oct 5–0 6–0
2  Greece 7 6 0 1 21 4 +17 18 Final tournament or play-offs 0–2 4–0 3–0 1 Oct 5–0
3  Northern Ireland 7 3 1 3 8 11 3 10 1–2 6 Oct 1 Oct 1–0 2–0
4  Georgia 7 2 3 2 12 9 +3 9 0–2 26 Sep 1–1 1–1 4–1
5  Latvia (E) 7 1 2 4 4 12 8 5 26 Sep 0–1 1–3 1–1 6 Oct
6  Malta (E) 7 0 0 7 1 28 27 0 30 Sep 0–5 26 Sep 0–5 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2026. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated

Current team

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Coaching staff

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As of 15 March 2025[4]

PositionName
Head CoachGeorgia (country) Ramaz Svanadze
Assistant coachGeorgia (country) Giorgi Adamia
Georgia (country) Zaur Svanadze
Georgia (country) Giorgi Dekanosidze
Goalkeeper coachGeorgia (country) Temur Charkviani
Fitness coachGeorgia (country) Bondo Gotsiridze
Video analystGeorgia (country) Jumber Burjanadze

Players

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The following players born in or after 2004 were called up for friendly matches against USA and Moldova, played respectively on 5 and 9 June 2026.[5]

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2026, after the match against Malta.[6]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Mikheil Makatsaria (2004-06-11) 11 June 2004 (age 22) 5 0 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Tbilisi
23 1GK Papuna Beruashvili (2004-03-21) 21 March 2004 (age 22) 4 0 Georgian Football Federation Rustavi
1GK Giorgi Kavlashvili (2007-01-24) 24 January 2007 (age 19) 0 0 Royal Belgian Football Association Union SG

2DF Rati Grigalava (2006-06-22) 22 June 2006 (age 19) 0 0 Lithuanian Football Federation Suduva
3 2DF Aleksandre Amisulashvili (2007-03-09) 9 March 2007 (age 19) 2 0 Georgian Football Federation Iberia 1999
2DF Davit Bukia (2005-07-27) 27 July 2005 (age 20) 5 1 Georgian Football Federation Torpedo
4 2DF Aleksandre Narimanidze (2005-06-03) 3 June 2005 (age 21) 5 2 Slovak Football Association Žilina
17 2DF Akaki Giunashvili (2005-03-01) 1 March 2005 (age 21) 4 0 Georgian Football Federation Kolkheti 1913
21 2DF Giorgi Tabatadze (2005-10-29) 29 October 2005 (age 20) 6 1 Danish Football Association Vejle
16 2DF Nikoloz Tsetskhladze (2005-10-29) 29 October 2005 (age 20) 2 0 Georgian Football Federation Samgurali
2DF Nikoloz Chikovani (2005-03-01) 1 March 2005 (age 21) 0 0 Georgian Football Federation Rustavi

3MF Dachi Lortkipanidze (2005-08-03) 3 August 2005 (age 20) 5 0 Italian Football Federation Carrarese
3MF Giorgi Robakidze (2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 (age 20) 0 0 Ukrainian Association of Football Chornomorets
7 3MF Luka Tsulukidze (2004-02-08) 8 February 2004 (age 22) 6 1 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Batumi
10 3MF Giorgi Kokhreidze (2006-03-04) 4 March 2006 (age 20) 0 0 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Batumi
18 3MF Tsotne Berelidze (2006-03-24) 24 March 2006 (age 20) 1 0 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Tbilisi
19 3MF Guram Japaridze (2005-08-15) 15 August 2005 (age 20) 5 0 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Batumi
20 3MF Nikoloz Dadiani (2004-12-08) 8 December 2004 (age 21) 7 1 Georgian Football Federation Iberia 1999
3MF Daniel Kvartskhava (2006-07-15) 15 July 2006 (age 19) 0 0 Georgian Football Federation Dinamo Tbilisi

9 4FW Diego Deisadze (2004-10-15) 15 October 2004 (age 21) 7 0 Georgian Football Federation Torpedo
11 4FW Nikoloz Chikovani (2007-06-21) 21 June 2007 (age 18) 2 0 The Football Association Watford
22 4FW Luka Parkadze (2005-04-06) 6 April 2005 (age 21) 6 0 Austrian Football Association Austria Salzburg
4FW Dimitri Gurtskaia (2004-02-04) 4 February 2004 (age 22) 1 0 Georgian Football Federation Meshakhte

Recent call-up

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The following players have been called up within the last twelve months and are still eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Revaz Kurtanidze (2005-01-11) 11 January 2005 (age 21) 0 0 Georgia (country) Iberia 1999 v. Malta, 31 March 2026
GK Saba Kajaia (2005-08-23) 23 August 2005 (age 20) 0 0 Spain Real Murcia v. Germany, 18 November 2025

DF Giorgi Gvasalia (2005-06-28) 28 June 2005 (age 20) 3 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v. Malta, 31 March 2026
DF Saba Kharebashvili (2008-09-03) 3 September 2008 (age 17) 7 1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v. Malta, 31 March 2026
DF Luka Latsabidze (2004-03-18) 18 March 2004 (age 22) 6 0 Denmark Vejle v. Malta, 31 March 2026
DF Otar Chochia (2006-11-18) 18 November 2006 (age 19) 0 0 Georgia (country) Gagra v. Germany, 18 November 2025
DF George Karseladze (2005-05-18) 18 May 2005 (age 21) 4 0 Portugal Académica de Coimbra v. Germany, 18 November 2025
DF Gela Sadgobelashvili (2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 (age 21) 0 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v. Malta, 14 October 2025
DF Saba Goglichidze (2004-06-25) 25 June 2004 (age 21) 7 0 Italy Empoli v. Romania, 4 June 2025
DF Mate Shatirishvili (2008-05-25) 25 May 2008 (age 18) 0 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v. Northern Ireland, 9 September 2025

MF Gia Nadareishvili (2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 (age 21) 0 0 Slovakia Trencin v. Malta, 31 March 2026
MF Irakli Yegoian (2004-03-19) 19 March 2004 (age 22) 18 1 Netherlands Excelsior v. Malta, 31 March 2026
MF Gabriel Sigua (2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 (age 20) 15 4 Switzerland Lausanne Sport v. Malta, 31 March 2026
MF Giorgi Kharebava (2004-02-26) 26 February 2004 (age 22) 1 0 Georgia (country) Kolkheti 1913 v. Germany, 18 November 2025

FW Andria Bartishvili (2009-03-30) 30 March 2009 (age 17) 2 0 Georgia (country) Iberia 1999 v. Malta, 31 March 2026
FW Saba Gegiadze (2004-01-21) 21 January 2004 (age 22) 1 0 Georgia (country) Spaeri v. Malta, 31 March 2026
FW Teimuraz Odikadze (2006-03-28) 28 March 2006 (age 20) 1 0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi v. Malta, 14 October 2025
FW Davit Gotsiridze (2004-09-06) 6 September 2004 (age 21) 7 0 Georgia (country) Dila v. Germany, 18 November 2025

Past squads

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Statistics

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Most capped players

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Last updated: 24 April 2026

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Saba Khvadagiani 2023–2025 31 3
2 Giorgi Kvernadze 2022–2025 24 2
Otar Mamageishvili 2022–2025 3
4 Luka Gagnidze 2021–2025 23 1
5 Nodar Lominadze 2022–2025 21 4

Source

Leading goalscorers

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Last updated: 24 April 2026

# Player Career Goals Caps Ratio
1 Giorgi Guliashvili 2020–2023 8 20 2.5
2 Nika Kacharava 2013–2016 7 11 1.57
3 Giorgi Arabidze 2017–2019 6 13 2.17

Source

Record against opponent

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Last update: 10 June 2026[7]

Note: Includes friendly matches

Opponent Matches Wins Draws Losses
 Albania 8 3 1 4
 Armenia 2 1 0 1
 Azerbaijan 3 2 1 0
 Belarus 2 1 0 1
 Belgium 1 0 1 0
 Bulgaria 3 0 0 3
 Croatia 6 2 2 2
 Cyprus 3 1 2 0
 Denmark 5 0 1 4
 England 4 1 1 2
 Estonia 7 6 0 1
 Faroe Islands 2 1 0 1
 Finland 3 2 1 0
 France 4 0 0 4
 Germany 4 0 1 3
 Gibraltar 2 2 0 0
 Greece 6 0 2 4
 Hungary 2 0 0 2
 Iceland 2 1 1 0
 Republic of Ireland 4 0 4 0
 Israel 4 1 1 2
 Italy 4 1 0 3
 Kazakhstan 5 2 1 2
 Latvia 6 4 2 0
 Liechtenstein 2 2 0 0
 Lithuania 6 3 1 2
 Luxembourg 2 1 0 1*
 Malta 5 5 0 0
 Moldova 9 5 2 2
 Montenegro 2 0 1 1
 Netherlands 5 1 1 3
 Northern Ireland 1 0 1 0
 North Macedonia 2 2 0 0
 Norway 2 0 1 1
 Poland 7 2 1 4
 Portugal 3 1 0 2
 Romania 6 1 1 4
 Russia 4 1 0 3
 San Marino 2 2 0 0
 Scotland 2 1 1 0
 Serbia 2 1 0 1
 Slovakia 4 1 0 3
 Slovenia 4 1 3 0
 Spain 6 0 0 6
  Switzerland 8 0 1 7
 Sweden 4 0 2 2
 Turkey 6 2 1 3
 Ukraine 5 0 3 2
 Wales 4 0 2 2
Total195634488
  • Luxemburg were awarded a 3–0 win[8]

Notable results

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Date Tournament Venue Team Result Team
10 September 1997 Euro 1998 Rustavi  Georgia 2–0  Italy
10 October 1997 Euro 1998 Tbilisi  Georgia 5–1  Poland
20 November 2007 Euro 2009 Tbilisi  Georgia 2–0  Russia
9 September 2009 Euro 2011 Zestaponi  Georgia 4–0  Turkey
3 June 2011 Euro 2013 Dugopolje  Croatia 0–1  Georgia
4 September 2014 Euro 2015 Deventer  Netherlands 0–1  Georgia
16 November 2021 Friendly Batumi  Georgia 3–2  England
21 June 2023 Euro 2023 Tbilisi  Georgia 2–0  Portugal

Notable former players

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Managerial history

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Source[9]

Media coverage

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Georgia Euro qualifiers and international friendlies are usually shown by the Public Broadcaster. The 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship will be broadcast by the Setanta Sports.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. "Georgia loses to Israel in penalty shootout of UEFA U21 European Championship quarter-finals". agenda.ge. 2 July 2023.
  2. "Under-21 EURO play-offs: Czechia, Finland, Georgia qualify". UEFA. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. "Under-21 EURO finals attendance record broken". UEFA. UEFA. 1 July 2023.
  4. "U21 coaches". nakrebi.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  5. "ახალგაზრდული აშშ-ს და მოლდოვას დაუპირისპირდება" [U21 squad to face USA and Moldova] (in Georgian). nakrebi.ge. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  6. "Squad". nakrebi.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  7. "U21 statistics". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  8. "Georgia vs Luxemburg". UEFA. UEFA. 5 March 2014.
  9. "ახალგაზრდული ნაკრების ყველა მატჩი". 1tv.ge (in Georgian), p.33. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  10. "UEFA-ს 21-წლამდელთა ევროპის ჩემპიონატი 2025 Setanta Sports-ზე" [2025 UEFA U21 European Championship on Setanta Sports]. setantasports.com (in Georgian). 20 March 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
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