Agency :
Two goals from Budu Zivzivadze gave Georgia a 2-0 home win over Luxembourg in their Euro 2024 playoff semi-final on Thursday, when the visitors had a player sent off and a goal disallowed in controversial circumstances.
Neither side has ever reached the finals of a major tournament and on a rainy night in Tbilisi it was Georgia who took a step closer.
They will host one of Tuesday’s three playoff finals against either Greece or Kazakhstan, who play later on Thursday.
Luxembourg were unable to get a foothold in the game early on as Georgia, backed by a noisy home crowd, kept possession and probed for a breakthrough, while the visitors failed to register a single shot on goal in the opening half.
The first goal came five minutes before the break when a poor attempt at a headed clearance by Mathias Olesen from a corner fell to Zivzivadze who rifled his first-time shot from close range into the roof of the net.
Luxembourg thought they had equalised in the 53rd minute through Gerson Rodrigues but, after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check for a penalty at the other end, the referee sent off Maxime Chanot for the foul which was outside the area, and disallowed the goal.