Two Napoli players were in action on Friday: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Stanislav Lobotka. Mathias Olivera did not feature in Uruguay’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier against Chile.
Spanish Dominance in Tbilisi
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played the full 90 minutes in Georgia’s 1-7 drubbling by Spain in UEFA Euro 2024 Group A Qualifying. Lined up on the left side of Georgia’s 4-4-1-1 formation, Kvaratskhelia had a tough match-up against Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal. The Napoli winger was nonetheless Georgia’s biggest attacking threat. In the 20th minute, he intercepted a Spain pass and started the counter. After receiving the return pass from Georges Mikautadze, he skipped between Marco Asensio and Robin Le Normand to set himseld up for the cross. Despite a decent cross into a dangerous, nothing came of Georgia’s best attacking move to that point.
With Spain racking up the goals, the Georgia’s number 7 had few opportunities to attack. In the 81st minute, he intercepted Carvajal’s pass and broke the other way, but his touch beyond former Napoli player Fabian Ruiz was heavy. As a result, Kvaratskhelia was late to the ball and inadvertently stepped on Le Normand’s foot, earning himself a yellow card.
Even trailing by six goals, Kvaratskhelia tried desperately to get onto the scoresheet. In the 83rd minute, he drifted towards the centre of the park before pulling a right-footed shot wide of the far post. Moments later, Kvara drew a foul on Le Normand on the left wing, approximately 30 yards from the goal. The Napoli winger took the direct free kick himself and struck the ball well, but the shot finished narrowly wide of the near post.
Pre Octa
Stanislav Lobotka played 83 minutes in Slovakia’s 0-1 defeat Portugal in UEFA Euro 2024 Group J Qualifying. The Napoli midfielder was a surprise inclusion in the Slovakia squad after the unfortunate passing of his father on Thursday. Lined up in the centre of Francesco Calzona’s 4-3-3 formation, Lobotka contributed to a very effective Slovakian press. Uncharacteristically, Portugal committed numerous errors when pressured, and consequently struggled to establish a rhythm. The visitors were fortunate to secure the victory on a brilliant solo goal from Bruno Fernandes. Cristiano Ronaldo’s squad otherwise created very few scoring opportunities. Meanwhile,
