Georgia national under-21 football team

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.
The current team is for Georgian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football 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 and achieved the best result in the next round by coming second in their group. Since the establishment of the Georgian under-21 side, it never reached a final tournament of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, until the 2023 edition 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.
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.
Competitive record
Georgia Under 21 at European Championship
Note:
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA European U-21 Championship qualification
2025 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification
Fixtures
2023
2022
2021
Source
Current team
Coaching staff
As of June 2023
Players
The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European under-21 championship qualification matches against Netherlands and Sweden in October 2023.
Caps and goals correct as of 17 October 2023, after the match against Sweden.
Recent call-up
The following players have been called up within the last twelve months and are still eligible for selection.
Statistics
Note: Includes friendly matches
Luxemburg were awarded a 3–0 win
Most capped players
Note: Competitive matches only
Top goalscorers
Note: Competitive matches only
Last updated: 16 June 2023
Notable results
Notable former players
Akaki Khubutia
Aleksandre Amisulashvili
Alexander Guruli
Alexander Kobakhidze
Davit Devdariani
Dato Kvirkvelia
David Targamadze
George Popkhadze
Giorgi Loria
Giorgi Makaridze
Gogita Gogua
Gulverd Tomashvili
Guram Kashia
Jaba Kankava
Jaba Lipartia
Jano Ananidze
Kakha Kaladze
Levan Kakubava
Levan Kenia
Levan Mchedlidze
Mate Vatsadze
Murtaz Daushvili
Nika Dzalamidze
Nukri Revishvili
Otar Martsvaladze
Roin Kvaskhvadze
Shota Grigalashvili
Solomon Kvirkvelia
Tornike Okriashvili
Ucha Lobjanidze
Valeri Kazaishvili
Vladimir Dvalishvili
Zurab Khizanishvili
Managerial history
Shota Cheishvili (1994–97)
Vladimir Gutsaev (1997–1998)
Gigla Imnadze (1998–1999)
Murtaz Khurtsilava (1999–2001)
Vakhtang Kopaleishvili (2001–2003)
Revaz Arveladze (2003–2004)
Gocha Tkebuchava (2004–2005)
Koba Zhorzhikashvili (2005–2006)
Ralf Minge (2006–2007)
Petar Segrt (2007–2009)
Kakha Tskhadadze (2009)
Otar Gabelia (2009–2011)
Soso Chedia (2011–2012)
Aleksandre Chivadze (2012–2016)
Gia Geguchadze (2016–2017)
Giorgi Tsetsadze (2017–2019)
Vasil Maisuradze (2020)
Ramaz Svanadze (2021–present)
Source
See also
Georgian national football team
U19 team
U17 team
References
External links
Team Profile & Squad at UEFA.com
under-21
European national under-21 association football teams