Georgia 1-Spain 2 | Dani Olmo takes out his wand

Soccer is as big or as small as he wants. The ball rules, so Georgia-Spain, which threatened to take us to the psychologist's couch in the 91st minute, turned in 92 in a victory that guaranteed us a smile for the rest of Sunday. After a thousand and one touches we had failed to break the Georgian resistance and, suddenly, a long shot from Olmo and an error from goalkeeper Loria made it 1-2 on the scoreboard. To score a goal you have to shoot at goal. That easy.

Seven changes, it is said soon. Luis Enrique revolutionized the team that had stumbled against Greece, there was no other. Although in the previous one he said he was proud of the backwards midfield work (“I think it is the best defensive game of my career as a coach,” he said), the Asturian decided to touch all the lines to face the game in Tbilisi. Only the doorman repeated, Unai Simon. The Alava goalkeeper debuted with La Roja last October, in the friendly with the Netherlands; Since then he has chained five games as a starter, what more than one will understand as the best credential to become the goalkeeper of La Roja in the Eurocup. In defense came Porro, who made his debut in the National Team, Llorente and Alba; Busquets, Fabián and Pedri did it in the center of the field; and above, Bryan Gil, who with twenty minutes of hubbub at Nuevo Los Cármenes earned his place at eleven. By the way, he was the eleven youngest starter of the National Team (24 years and 226 days of average age) in an official match since March 2005, against Serbia (0-0). Courtesy of Mr. Chip.

The first nuisance came early, at six minutes, with the yellow to Diego Llorente, who resorted to blocking to stop a counterattack skillfully started by Kvaratskhelia. Kankava, the rock, was the capital that supported Georgia. This time he had Gvilia as a partner in the double pivot, a key scaffolding so that the team did not break before the movement of the ball by the Spanish. Gvilia was one of the novelties introduced by Willy Sagnol regarding his debut last Thursday at Solna, with a 1-0 defeat against Sweden. The other new pieces on the French technician's board were Kakabadze, Kiteishvili and Zivzivadze, which formed a point.

Shortly after, Kvaratskhelia forced another yellow in a new incursion this time stopped by Porro. It was the 12th minute and the talent of the pearl of Rubin Kazan had already done his thing. It would go further as the match progressed, sorry for the spoiler. The fans, some 15,000, were noticed by Unai Simón's save after Kashia's header in Georgia's first corner. Kashia was precisely the voice of command in defense, screaming with his teammates, asking them to advance the defensive line so as not to fall prey to the touch and touch of La Roja.

Spain's first shot on goal, even though the ball went through the roof, did not arrive until minute 40. A shot by Ferran Torres with his left foot after a play that was the best reflection of the Spanish offensive: touch and touch, with the internationals passing the responsibility of finishing off to each other. Immediately afterwards, the blow. Counterattack by Georgia and goal by Kvaratskhelia. He made easy and in two seconds what on the other side of the mirror cost horrors. Reception in the front of the area, control with the right and low shot with the left before which Simón could not do anything. His only clumsiness came when he celebrated the goal with such impetus that he was hit by the camera trying to capture the close-up of the midfielder.

The fifteen minutes of the break seemed like many more. The 1-0 painted too black clouds in the sky of the qualifying rounds, who was going to say. The first syrup for that cough was none other than the entrance of Olmo, one of Luis Enrique's fixed, by Gil. Íñigo Martínez relieved Diego Llorente, perhaps to avoid risks due to the Leeds center-back card. Thiago also replaced Fabián, cold from start to finish, but barely had time for the exchange to take effect because in the 55th minute the goal came that put us back in the game. Jordi Alba, who had not played with the National Team since September 2019, had an impact on the left and his pass was missed by Morata but not by Ferran, who at the far post signed 1-1. They were the best minutes of the Barça side, who in La Roja does not have Messi, his favorite partner, but does have Pedri, which took a few months to decrypt the language that Leo and Jordi have made world famous. That is so difficult to launch verticals and walls that everyone knows they are going to arrive but no one guesses. Something like what happens when you see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance. “It seems so easy”, one thinks, but …

The minutes passed and oxygen was scarce in the Georgian internationals. So Sagnol gave way to Kvilitaia, Shengelia, Beridze, Kvekveskiri and Chabradze. The push from Spain had been stopped but there were still ten minutes ahead. Resist or resist. And it was achieved until that minute 92 in which Olmo returned us with his goal to the right path towards the World Cup in Qatar.