Belgium v Romania LIVE: Euro 2024 team news and starting line-ups ahead of Group E clash

This preview is especially pertinent given Mikautadze’s performance in the opener.

There are few real stars around Europe who are truly unknown when it comes time for summer international tournaments summer anymore, at least not in the way used to be the case. 

Modern accessibility to more matches and footage than ever before means some of that surprise element has departed, even if players can still come from nowhere to have a great summer with their national team.

But even from countries with less prestige or history, if they have a genuinely top-tier player, they enter the tournament as known quantities, generally speaking. Georgia, at Euro 2024 in their first competition finalssince independence from the Soviet Union, at first seem a case in point.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was an unheralded signing in many ways when Napoli took him from Dinamo Batumi in his home nation – he was back there having previously been playing in Russia when the invasion of Ukraine began, thus allowing him to suspend his contract with Rubin Kazan. But within a few months, he was known everywhere.

And yet Georgia present a confusion of both the above statements: firstly, they do arrive with a relative unknown quantity in their ranks who can make an impression, and secondly, it may be this other player, not their best player in Kvaratskhelia, who offers their best route to cause an upset in Group F. Introducing, Georges Mikautadze.

Live coverage of the match begins in around 20 minutes, at 1.30pm BST. It will be shown live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer,

The match will kick off at 2pm BST, at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.

Georgia coach Willy Sangol has made just one change to the side that lost 3-1 to Turkey in their opening match.

Watfird’s Giorgi Chakvetadze is replaced by Bordeaux’s Zuriko Davitashvili.

The Czech Republic have made three changes to the team that started their opening loss to Portugal. David Jurásek comes in at left wing-back in place of Pavel Sulc, with Vaclav Cerny replacing David Douděra and moving to the right wing. Adam Hlozec comes in at left wing in place of Jan Kuchta.

GEORGIA XI: Mamardashvili; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Mekvabishvili, Kochorashvili, Tsitaishvili; Davitashvili; Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia.

CZECH REP XI: Stanek; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Soucek, Provod, Jurásek; Cerny; Schick, Hlozec.

As we wait for the line-ups to be announced, here’s a reminder of the Group F standings.

1 – Turkey – 3 points, GD +2

2 – Portugal – 3 points, GD +1

3 – Czech Republic – 0 points, GD -1

4 – Georgia – 0 points, GD -2

Fans and viewers may notice that Czech Republic are often being referred to as “Czechia” over the coming weeks, and officially listed by Uefa under the shorter name. Broadcasters, commentators and pundits have increasingly taken to using the name Czechia in the build-up to this tournament.

The country was named Czechoslovakia when first established in 1918 after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and this name was re-established when Nazi occupation ended after the second world war. In 1992, in the wake the fall of the Soviet Union, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were created as two independent states.

Czech Republic actually changed its preferred name to Czechia on 1 July 2016. The country’s government approved the new name as its English-language title, with the intention of promoting the usage to “reduce confusion for English speakers and enhance the the country’s identity and economy”, according to the UK government’s official Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN).

Expect more exciting football from Georgia, but don’t expect the same disjointed, boring attacking performance from the Czech Republic. Georgia will be quietly confident about getting a result, but if the Czech side can click in attack then they should have enough to beat the tournament’s lowest-ranked team. Georgia 1-2 Czech Republic.

Georgia XI: Mamardashvili; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Chakvetadze, Mekvabishvili, Kochorashvili, Tsitaishvili; Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia

Czech Republic XI: Stanek; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Soucek; Coufal, Doudera, Provod, Sulc; Schick, Kuchta

Georgia have no reported injury concerns after their enthralling loss against Turkey, so expect to see them line up with similar personnel and the same 3-5-2 formation that almost brought them joy in their opener.

‘Keeper Mamardashvili will retain his place, as will star forwards Mikautadze and Kvaratskhelia. In midfield, Kochorashvili and Chakvetadze both impressed, so will likely retain their places in the starting eleven too.

There’s been no injury news from the Czech camp either, though manager Ivan Hasek may look to start more inventive attacking talent in their second game. Bayer Leverkusen’s Adam Hložek could come into the starting side, while Petr Sevcik impressed in his second-half cameo against Portugal.