A talismanic No. 7 led his nation from the front, and his compatriots, heroes all, made history.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia provided Georgia with an early lead.
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Kvaratskhelia’s opening goal sparked jubilant scenes in Gelsenkirchen.
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It was the beginning of a momentous night for Georgia.
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Georges Mikautadze doubled Georgia’s lead from the penalty spot.
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Antonio Silva fouled Luca Lochoshvili for the penalty.
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Georges Mikautadze is now the top scorer at the Euros with three goals.
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It was a dismal night for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.
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Kvaratskhelia produced one of the performances of the tournament against Portugal.
Cristiano who?
No, this was the night of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, his brothers in arms, and Georgia.
In the buildup to the game, Kvaratskhelia admitted he had been below par at his homeland’s first major tournament.
The electric winger who played such a big role in Napoli’s 2022/23 Serie A triumph was not living up to the nickname that his club’s fans had admiringly given him.
Kvaratskhelia will never eclipse Diego Maradona.
But for one night only, he and his team got the better of living legend Cristiano Ronaldo and his much-fancied Portugal team.
They led after barely 90 seconds, through Kvaratskhelia’s superb goal on the break.
It felt unlikely they could hold out for another 90 minutes and more.
Ronaldo failed to impact the game before he was taken off.
Ronaldo felt he was being fouled in the area by Georgian defenders.
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Ronaldo was booked for dissent after raging at the officials.
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Yet some gutsy defending and Portugal’s failure to make the most of their openings kept them ahead until Georges Mikautadze doubled their lead from a VAR-awarded penalty.
Even then they still had more than half an hour to go against Roberto Martinez’s star-studded squad. But in the end, Portugal paid the price for fielding a second string against a team for whom this was more than a football match.
Reaching the last 16 at their first attempt is an achievement that will be remembered in Georgia long after the current political problems are resolved, hopefully soon and without violеnce.
And for good measure, Georgia’s win and third-place means England will not have to face Holland in the last 16.
That’s for Gelsenkirchen 2006, Cristiano!
There was no repeat of the wink with which Ronaldo greeted the sending off of Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney when Portugal beаt England here on penalties in the World Cup quarter-final.
Martinez felt confident enough to choose to put minutes in the legs of some of his back-up players ahead of the knockout stage and to experiment with three at the back.
That meant wing-back roles for Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot and Wolves winger Pedro Neto, who were two of the eight changes from the 3-0 win over Turkey that had guaranteed top spot in Group F.
It was another, Benfica centre-half Antonio Silva, who gifted Georgia their perfect start.
Under little pressure, he passed straight to Georges Mikautadze.
As quick as you could sаy, “This team are known for their swift counter-attacks,” Mikautadze laid a perfect pass into the path of Kvaratskhelia, who had run half the length of the pitch by the time he finished coolly.
The celebrations were much less composed, at least in the press box…
Kvaratskhelia’s opposite number was soon getting excited for different reasons.
Ronaldo was moaning as early as the 10th minute about free kicks not being given in Portugal’s favour.
Giorgi, the first nаmе sported by many of Sagol’s squad, comes from Ancient Greek and literally means farmer.
Some of the Georgian challenges were pretty agricultural, to be fair.
But Ronaldo allowed them and the situation to get under his skin.
He saw a free kiϲk fistеd away by Giorgi Mamardashvili, then gave Silva daggers for taking the ball off his head.
And after Francisco Conceição Һit a shot into the side-netting, the Portugal captain really lost his rag.
Again, his complaints that his shirt was being pulled were not without justification.
But he spoke and gestured too much and into the referee’s book he went, chuntering away at the world the whole time.
Georgia had done nothing going forward for more than half an hour until Kvaratskhelia was twice just off target, with Ronaldo having a shot well blocked in between.
When Neto picked up Portugal’s third yellow card of Euro 2024 – Rafael Leao earned the other two – his captain just about kept his temper.
Mamardashvili scrambled to stop Neto’s corner going in directly and an eventful first half ended.
It was a night to remember for the Georgia fans in Germany and back home.
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Georgia will now face Spain for a place in the quarter-finals.
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The pattern soon resumed.
Portugal probed and probed, Ronaldo was denied again by the latest in a series of blocks by the mеn in red.
Kvaratskhelia had a chance to double his team’s lead but snatched badly at his shot.
Then came Silva’s second moment to forget.
He left in a lazy leg as he half-heartedly challenged Luka Lochoshvili that Swiss referee Sandro Schär deemed no foul.
But after Mamardashvili made a brilliant save from Dalot, the VAR invited Schär to have another look.
Penalty. And Mikautadze stuck it away as if it was not the most significant moment of his life.
Ronaldo…