Preview: France Under-21 vs Georgia Under-21 - prediction, team news, lineups

Georgia Under-21s will be hoping to start the 2025 European Under-21 Championship with back-to-back wins when they take on France Under-21s in Saturday’s meeting in Zilina.

Meanwhile, Les Bleuets are searching for their first win of the tournament after drawing with Portugal in their opening group game.

Match preview

France will be dreaming of ending their long wait for glory at the Under-21 Euros after previously winning the tournament in 1988.

While they have failed to claim the top prize in the past 37 years, France can be proud of the fact that they have reached the knockout rounds in all five of their previous appearances since the group stage was introduced.

In fact, they have featured in the knockout rounds in each of the past three editions of the tournament, although they were unable to make it beyond the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2023.

They kicked off the 2025 tournament with a goalless draw against Portugal, extending their unbeaten run to six matches.

The current crop of players can draw inspiration from the fact that France have all five of their previous group games that have taken place on the second matchday of the Under-21 European Championship, including a 1-0 win over Norway in the 2023 edition.

Meanwhile, Georgia are making their second appearance at the Under-21 Euros after they made their tournament debut as hosts in 2023.

On that occasion, they upset the odds to finish top of a tricky group that included Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium. 

Their hopes of another quarter-final appearance were boosted by a dramatic win in Wednesday's opening game against Poland, as Vasilios Gordeziani netted a stoppage-time winner to seal all three points after Nodar Lominadze had seen his effort cancelled out by Jakub Kaluzinski.

After getting off to a positive start, Georgia will now be looking to claim back-to-back victories for the first time in their short history at the European Under-21 Championships.

Boasting a two-point advantage over France and Portugal, Ramaz Svanadze's side know they will secure their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare if they are able to take all three points from Saturday's contest. 

France Under-21 form (all competitions)

D D W W W D

Georgia Under-21 form (all competitions)

W L W W L W

Team News

France midfielder Ismael Doukoure will have to be assessed after he was forced off in the closing stages of the draw with Portugal.

Soungoutou Magassa is waiting in the wings if Doukoure is unable to feature, while Thierno Barry is pushing to get the nod over Matthis Abline up front.

Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel are both set to retain their spots on the flanks, although Gerald Baticle does have the option to turn to Loum Tchaouna or Jean-Matteo Bahoya if he wants to freshen up his attacking options.

As for Georgia, Lominadze will hope to prove his fitness in time after being forced off in the second half of Wednesday’s win.

Gordeziani is pushing for a starting spot after coming off the bench to score the stoppage-time winner against Poland. 

Gizo Mamageishvili is also hoping to earn a starting berth, which could see Giorgi Abuashvili drop out of the lineup for Saturday’s contest.

France Under-21 possible starting lineup:

Restes; Sildillia, Matsima, Lukeba, Merlin; Diouf, Magassa; Odobert, Lepenant, Tel; Barry

Georgia Under-21 possible starting lineup:

Kharatishvili; Maisuradze, Sazonov, Khvadagiani, Azarovi; Sigua, Lominadze, Gagnidze; Mamageishvili, Odisharia, Gordeziani

We say: France Under-21s 2-1 Georgia Under-21s

Georgia may have got the better of Poland on Wednesday, but they are set to face a step in quality in Saturday's tricky game against France.

We ultimately believe that France will show their class to claim their first win of the tournament via a narrow scoreline.