The Georgia national football team ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები, tr) represents

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in men's international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches, and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Georgia. It is a member of

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

in Europe and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

in global competitions. The Georgian team's first match took place on 27 May 1990 against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, while Georgia was still part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The team have attempted to qualify for each major tournament from Euro 1996 onwards. Their efforts culminated in their first successful qualification for a major tournament, the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

, secured with a win against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-off final. The team is colloquially referred to as Jvarosnebi ( The Crusaders) and has adopted

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

as their symbol, which is a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of Georgia. Upon its admission into FIFA ranked 156th, Georgia ascended to their peak World Ranking of 42nd in 1998. The team plays their home games at the

Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena The Boris Paitchadze Dinamo Arena ( ''Boris P’aich’adzis erovnuli st’adioni''), formerly known as Boris Paitchadze National Stadium, is a stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the home stadium of FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Dinamo Tbilisi, Georgia natio ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

History

20th century

Football was introduced to Georgia by English sailors in early 20th century.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

ships that docked at the harbors of

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian language, Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz language, Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia (country), Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the mkhare, region of ...

and

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

frequently hosted football matches among their crew, attracting the attention of Lelo burti players, who quickly embraced and adapted the sport. While the exact date of the first football match in Georgia remains uncertain, football was first mentioned in the Georgian press in 1890. From 1923 to 1990, Georgian football players were part of the USSR national team, with two of them, Murtaz Khurtsilava and Aleksandre Chivadze, serving as captains at different times. During the early Soviet era, Georgia competed in the Trans-Caucasian Championship, hosting the 1926 edition. Georgia's first game came against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in Tbilisi, losing 4–2 in

. The Georgian SSR's first win came in their second game, beating

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

7–0. Georgia would later host the 1927 and 1928 editions of the Trans-Caucasian Championship, winning the latter edition after a 5–1 and 6–0 win over Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively. After a six year hiatus, Georgia played in the 1934 competition in Azerbaijan, before once against hosting the 1935 Trans-Caucasian Championship, winning it once again. During this period, the USSR national team included players from various Soviet republics, including

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. Georgian players made significant contributions to the team, with several becoming key figures and achieving notable success, such as Slava Metreveli scoring in the 1960 European Nations' Cup final. One of the most famous Georgian footballers who played for the USSR national team was Murtaz Khurtsilava, who captained the team and played a crucial role in the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

, where the USSR finished in fourth place. Another prominent player was Vitaly Daraselia, known for his performances in the 1980s, along with David Kipiani, Ramaz Shengelia and Vladimir Gutsaev. Following Soviet rule in Georgia, the contemporary history of the Georgia national football team began in 1990, when the team played their first international match against

, the first country to accept an invitation. The match was held on 27 May 1990 at the

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

. Georgia were coached by Givi Nodia. The friendly match ended in a 2–2 draw. This was the only match prior to the declaration of

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

on 9 April 1991. Soon afterwards the team played another friendly match against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. The Georgian Football Federation became a member of both

and

in 1992, enabling Georgia to play competitive matches. The first of these came in September 1994, a 1–0 defeat to

as part of the qualifiers for Euro 1996. Georgia finished third in their group, ahead of Moldova,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, but seven points behind second-placed qualifier

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Georgia failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France, obtaining 10 points and finishing in fourth place, level on points with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. At this time Georgia reached 42nd place in the FIFA World Ranking.

21st century

During

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

qualifying the Georgia national team won one match, drew two and finished at the bottom of the group with five points. The team finished fifth (and last) with seven points in their qualifying

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

for

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

, although they defeated

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

with a goal scored by Malkhaz Asatiani. In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers Georgia beat

2–0 at home and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

away 2–1. They finished sixth of seven with ten points in Group 2. Georgia were sixth out of seven teams in the Euro 2008 qualifying group with ten points. They defeated

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

2–0 at home and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

6–0 away and 3–1 at home.

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, w ...

became the manager of Georgia in August 2008. During the

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

round for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Georgia failed to win any matches and finished sixth (and last) with three points. Cuper didn't extend his contract, and on 6 November 2009, Temur Ketsbaia was appointed as the new manager of the Georgian national team. Ketsbaia resigned as manager after a 4–0 defeat at home to Poland in the Euro 2016 qualifiers on 14 November 2014, having previously stated he would do so before the match regardless of the result. In June 2016, Georgia beat the two-time reigning European champions

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

1–0 in their final pre-Euro 2016 friendly. In 2018, they were the first team to earn promotion in the new

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

. They scored the event's first goal in a UEFA Nations League D game in

before beating

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

twice and

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

, with two games still to spare and earned their first-ever playoff berth. In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Georgia had a disappointing run, with their only two wins came over

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. In the Path D playoff semi-final, Georgia managed to beat

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

1–0 and thus the hope to qualify for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

increased, but it went in vain after the Georgians suffered a heartbreaking home defeat to

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

in the decisive match and thus missed the opportunity to make a historic debut in a major competition.Georgia showed improvements with a strong 2–0 win over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the 2022 World Cup qualification on 11 November 2021. They continued their improvement by winning the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C Group 4, getting promoted to 2024-25 UEFA Nations League B, and qualified for their second-ever play-off berth. Georgia won 2–0 against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, earning them a spot in the final of the

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan ...

. They defeated

4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the playoff final, which guaranteed Georgia's qualification for their first ever international tournament at Euro 2024. During Euro 2024, Georgia were placed in Group F; they subsequently lost 3–1 in the match against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where Georges Mikautadze scored the first-ever goal in Georgia's history in the Euros, and drew 1–1 against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Their 2–0 victory against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

was considered one of the biggest upsets in European Championship history, and was enough to propel Georgia to the round of 16 in their first international tournament appearance. Georgia subsequently played eventual Champions

in the Round of 16, and lost by a score of 4–1. Georgia's Georges Mikautadze finished the Euro 2024 campaign as the joint- UEFA European Football Championship Top Goalscorer.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

2025

Coaching staff

Coaching history

''As of 9 June 2025''

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the friendly matches against

on June 5 and

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

on June 8. After the initiall call-up, Budu Zivzivadze and Giorgi Zaria withdrew due to injury. Davit Volkovi was named as a replacement. ''Caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2025, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have not been called up for the upcoming matches but have been called up for the team in the last 12 months. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to injury

Records

:''Players in bold are still active with Georgia.''

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Statistics

The following table shows Georgia‘s all-time international record, correct as of 8 June 2025.

Honours

Friendly

* Malta International Football Tournament ** Champions (1): 1998

Notes

References

External links

Georgian Football Federation

Georgia
at

Georgia
at

RSSSF archive of results 1990–

Archive of results 1990–

Georgia national football team results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia National Football Team European national association football teams