Georgia vs Sweden

Sweden head to the Adjarabet Arena to take on lowly Georgia in a must-win World Cup Qualification Group B encounter.

Despite a 2-1 away victory over Kosovo last time out saw Georgia finally get off the mark in the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign, it was too little too late. Georgia’s hopes of reaching their first-ever World Cup finals as a sovereign nation will have to wait until the next qualifying cycle, as they’ve only accrued four points from seven Group B fixtures so far (W1, D1, L5). The Georgians have lost all three 2022 World Cup qualifying matches to date, two of which via a single-goal margin, showing they know how to put up a fight. By extension, the ‘Crusaders’ are winless in their last six internationals on home soil (D1, L5), a spread of games where five of their opponents were ranked below 17th-placed Sweden.

In the meantime, Sweden have bounced back from a 2-1 away defeat to Greece in September with back-to-back World Cup qualifying victories to move back to the top of Group B. Sitting two points clear of second-placed Spain, the ‘Blaguit’ are in firm control of their destiny as they look to qualify for consecutive World Cup finals for the first time since 2006. The Swedes will have to improve their awful away form if they are to retain the top spot in Group B, having won just once in their last seven matches on foreign soil (D1, L5). Yet, Jane Andersson’s men tend to play with their supporters’ nerves, having found the net before the 55th minute only once across their last three international fixtures (W2, L1).