Georgia vs Ukraine – News and Probable Lineups

Geórgia aims to recover from a disappointing late loss as they host Ucrânia in Tbilisi for their second match in the Nations League on Monday evening.

The home side allowed a last-minute goal in the 99th minute against Northern Irlanda in their opening game, whereas Ucrânia commenced their journey with a narrow 1-0 win over Hungria in Budapest.

Match overview

Geórgia kicked off their 2026-27 Nations League campaign in solid form, having drawn twice and won twice in their last four friendly matches, remaining unbeaten since November 2025.

This sequence followed a tough qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup, where Geórgia experienced four straight defeats in a group containing the eventual champions, Espanha.

The last-minute loss on Friday night was particularly hard-hitting, with Shea Charles scoring in the 99th minute, which saw Geórgia miss out on a point they were so close to securing.

This late defeat led to Willy Sagnol being replaced, as the Under-21s coach Ramaz Svandze was elevated to take the reins of the senior team, following Sagnol’s leadership of Geórgia to their first significant tournament during Euro 2024.

Svandze will manage his first game on Monday night, as the Crusaders strive to break a streak of five Nations League group matches without a win, their last group-stage victory being against Albânia in September 2024.

In contrast, Ucrânia began the new Nations League campaign with a win over Hungria, securing a 1-0 away victory thanks to a goal from Danylo Sikan just before half time.

Head coach Andrea Maldera has now guided the team to successive victories since taking charge, with Ucrânia demonstrating a strong defensive performance to thwart Hungria, who managed to register 17 attempts on goal.

However, Ucrânia will be missing Oleksandr Nazarenko, who received a red card during the closing stages of the match against Hungria after picking up two yellow cards within a span of 33 minutes.

The visitors have also enjoyed a good record against Geórgia in the Nations League, remaining unbeaten in their two encounters during the 2024-25 season, winning at home and drawing away.

If the Blue and Yellow manage to secure another victory on Monday night, it would mark their third consecutive win and maintain Maldera’s perfect start as Ucrânia’s head coach, with a potential noteworthy three wins on the road.

Team News

Following their narrow defeat to Northern Irlanda, Geórgia reports no new injury issues and could field an unchanged starting XI on Monday, though the arrival of a new manager might prompt changes to the lineup.

Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to continue as the first-choice goalkeeper, while captain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is likely to spearhead the attack as he nears becoming the highest ever scorer for his nation.

For Ucrânia, they also faced a red card situation in their match against Hungria, with Nazarenko coming off the bench early in the second half before receiving two yellow cards, which will exclude him from Monday’s fixture; however, the rest of the squad may remain unchanged.

Striker Sikan is set to lead the attack again, with Georgiy Sudakov anticipated to provide support after registering an assist in the victory on Friday.

Dmytro Riznyk has made a mere four appearances for Ucrânia since his debut in 2021 but made crucial saves in Budapest and should retain his position in goal.

Geórgia probable starting XI:

Mamardashvili, Goglichidze, Dvali, Lochoshvilli; Kakabadze, Kochorashvili, Mekvabishvili, Kharebashvilil Kvernadze, Mikautadze; Kvaratskhelia

Ucrânia probable starting XI:

Riznyk; Krupskyi, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Tsygankov, Ocheretko, Brazhko, Sudakov; Sikan, Vanat

Although Ucrânia have started the Nations League stronger, Geórgia will likely be invigorated by the arrival of Svandze and aim to respond positively after their late defeat to Northern Irlanda.

The hosts have struggled for positive outcomes in recent Nations League matches, while Ucrânia’s impressive record against Geórgia could provide the visitors with added confidence. Nevertheless, we expect a tightly contested match to unfold in Tbilisi.

We thus predict the match to end in a 1-1 draw.