Georgia beats Belarus, advances to Euro 2020 playoff finals

Georgia became the first team to advance to the European Championship playoff finals by beating Belarus 1-0. All four finals are played on Nov. 12. Teams in the playoffs won their Nations League groups, or had a high placing, two years ago and then did not advance to Euro 2020 directly from the traditional qualifying groups.

Georgia became the first team to advance to the European Championship playoff finals by beating Belarus 1-0. A seventh-minute penalty kick earned and scored by Tornike Okriashvili settled the game played without fans in the stadium in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Georgia will host either North Macedonia or Kosovo next month in the lowest-ranked of four knockout brackets that will complete the 24-nation Euro 2020 lineup. All three are looking to reach their first major tournament. Seven more playoff semifinals were kicking off across Europe later Thursday. All four finals are played on Nov. 12.

Teams in the playoffs won their Nations League groups, or had a high placing, two years ago and then did not advance to Euro 2020 directly from the traditional qualifying groups. The playoffs were originally scheduled to be played in March before UEFA shut down its competitions and postponed Euro 2020 by one year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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