American broadcaster ESPN took their patriotism to new levels as they confused Georgia, the Eastern European country, with Georgia the state in south-eastern America, during their showing of the World Cup qualifier against Spain.
To be fair, the mistake is an easy one to make, with just the 6323 miles or a 13 hour flight separating Georgian capital Tbilisi, where last night’s match was played, and the Georgian state capital Atlanta.
Maybe ESPN were just so surprised that the country with a population of only four million had held the world and European champions to a goalless draw until the 86th minute, they assumed it must have been the ninth largest American state instead, with a population of over nine million.
Despite Vicente del Bosque’s side enjoying 81% of possession in the first half, Georgia’s defence held firm to deny the reigning champions, and the hosts could even have taken the lead early in the second half when Alexander Amisulashvili hit the post.
But Spain’s persistence paid off four minutes from time as Valencia’s Roberto Soldado fired home from a Cesc Fabregas cross to get their title defence underway with all three points in Tbilisi.
That’s Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, as opposed to the world famous Tbilisi in America…
source metro