Two players of Georgia's football team test positive for COVID-19
Shengelia (pictured left) and Kvaratskhelia tested positive on Tuesday and have been placed under self-isolation. Photos via Georgian Football Federation.
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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Levan Shengelia, two players of Georgia's national football team squad, have tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss the team's crucial qualification game against North Macedonia on Thursday.
The Georgian Football Federation revealed the news on Wednesday in a pre-match update that said the two players had tested positive on a mandatory check on Tuesday and had been placed under self-isolation.
Head coach Vladimír Weiss had called 29 players for preparations for the North Macedonia fixture, to be played at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi. A day before the match the team continues its training with 27 members following Kvaratskhelia and Shengelia's self-isolation, GFF said.
The federation said a test for the entire team before the trainings began on Monday had been negative, with only the Tuesday check returning the positive results for the two.
The winner of the game between Georgia and North Macedonia will proceed to the final stage of the European Football Championship next year. Georgia has never reached the ultimate stage of the continental competition before.
The decisive UEFA Euro 2020 playoff game between Georgia and North Macedonia next week will be played in an empty stadium, following a decision made by relevant authorities for pandemic safety.
The Georgian national football team has handed a defeat to Belarus 1 to 0 in the UEFA EURO 2020 play-offs in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. After the victory in play-off semi-finals Georgia will now face North Macedonia or Kosovo in play-off finals on November 12.
The Georgian national football team has defeated Estonia in UEFA Nations League. Georgians handed a defeat to Estonia 1 to 0 at the A Le Coq arena in Tallinn yesterday. On September 8, the Georgian team will host North Macedonia at Boris Paichadze national stadium in Tbilisi.
The Georgian Football Federation will receive €4.3 million from UEFA to overcome the financial impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to Georgia UEFA is helping all its 55 member associations. For this reason UEFA has allocated €236.5 million which will be distributed to the national associations to cover running costs and to help develop targeted areas of domestic football.
Head of Tbilisi Infectious Disease Hospital Tengiz Tsertsvadze has called on Georgian citizens to maintain coronavirus-related safety regulations and avoid crowded gatherings.
Social activist Giorgi Kupatadze was injured in clashes between Georgian Football Federation employees and demonstrators earlier today.
Football fans in Georgia will be able to return to the stands for the national team's second round fixture in the World Cup qualifiers later this month, when the team faces Spain in Tbilisi.
Georgia's national football team came close to denying Spain two points in a second round fixture of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, after the visiting team left Tbilisi with a 2-1 win only thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Dani Olmo.
Georgian national football team's young midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is at the top of the Most Viewed Players section of the transfermarkt.com website that assesses value of players from around the world.