So, this was the night Georgia advanced to the last 16 in their first appearance at a major tournament courtesy of a magnificent victory over Portugal and one that will live long in the memory of the thousands of supporters who were here to witness history. No wonder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who got the nation dreaming after scoring inside 92 seconds and afterwards swapped shirts with his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo, pined to see the scenes in Tbilisi.
There will be a rich tapestry of lasting images from this win but the sight of Georgia’s substitutes’ bench emptying, reserve goalkeepers Giorgi Loria and Luka Gugeshashvili, too, streaming to mob Georges Mikautadze after his penalty earned a two-goal buffer is hard to top. Guram Kashia looked to the skies, kissed his wrist and beat his chest. Willy Sagnol, wearing a plain white T-shirt, merely clenched his left fist. It is fair to say the celebrations back home will be rather more unrestrained. “This is the best day in the lives of Georgians,” Kvaratskhelia said. “We just made history. Nobody believed we would defeat Portugal but this is why we’re a strong team. We just encourage each other and said that we could do it. Even if there is just a 1% chance, we proved that you can make it happen.”
Written by Ben Fisher at Arena AufSchalke
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/26/georgia-portugal-euro-2024-match-report under the title “Kvaratskhelia propels Georgia to last 16 with famous win over Portugal”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
