Georgia chase new EHF EURO memories as Tsintsadze's moment lives on

Before they face off against Croatia on Saturday at 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV, in the opening match of group E in Malmö, the Georgian squad took a trip down memory lane to relive their best moment — celebrating a historic win at the European championship.

It came in the final group phase match in Mannheim, Germany when Georgia clashed with Bosnia and Herzegovina in a tight match. Their opponents made a blistering start and opened a five-goal lead, but once Georgia caught up, the match turned into a back-and-forth battle — until goalkeeper Zurab Tsintsadze stepped into the spotlight.

Not only did the Georgian goalkeeper make seven saves at 36.8 per cent efficiency to earn the Player of the Match award, he also produced a moment that went viral. Tsintsadze intercepted a pass, sprinted into attack and delivered an assist that proved decisive in Georgia's 22:19 win.

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“It was really sudden. I was shocked, I never thought a goalkeeper would do something like that on such a high-level game,” says his teammate Giorgi Tskhovrebadze.

Asked what went through his mind in that moment, Tsintsadze explains: “The hard part was deciding whether I should go for the ball or not. Once I made that decision, everything felt easy. I had experienced something similar at club level before, I just went for it.

“It was very memorable, that first win. That moment will stay with me during my whole career,” the goalkeeper adds.

Although it briefly looked like he might also score, Tsintsadze instead passed to Giorgi Dikhaminjia, who netted for 21:19 just two minutes before the buzzer.

“Of course I wanted to score, but when I saw the defender very close to me, I changed my mind,” says Tsintsadze.

Close to the action was line player Erekle Arsenashvili, who had a smile on his face as they returned to their defence after the Tsintsadze show. Arsenashvili remembers the moment vividly.

“We were all asking to him to just pass us the ball. Those were huge emotions, you know, when a goalkeeper is making a move nobody expects. Even us, we were frozen for a second on the court. It ended up well and moments like this, full of emotions gives you a lot of energy. Hopefully, there will be more of them, at this EURO too,” he says.

Georgia will need to find those moments against three strong opponents in group E. Once again, they face Sweden and the Netherlands, with Croatia added to the mix, a challenging group for coach Tite Kalandadze's side.

“We are happy that the we are in this group. Facing tougher opponents is a celebration, not just for us, but for Georgian handball fans. It’s an opportunity to play against the best teams,” says the 29-year-old goalkeeper, who plays club handball in Poland for KPR Legionowo.

Finishing second in qualification group 3, behind just Iceland, gave Georgia renewed confidence.

“Because we beat those teams in qualifications [Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece], it is more deserving to be here and compete with this team. We are much more confident now because of that. Just like we gained an experience on the last Euro. And now, we are ready to shock Europe,” adds Tsintsadze.

When asked about the first game against Croatia, the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship runners up and home to several of Giorgi Tskhovrebadze's club teammates, Tsintsadze says, with a big smile on his face: “We will not tell you now what Giorgi told us about his teammates from Zagreb and we will keep it a secret. But after the game we will tell you all. You will see.”

Photos © kolektiff images