Georgia 2-0 Portugal: EURO debutants into last 16 with stunning victory

Georgia's memorable final tournament debut will extend into the knockout rounds of UEFA EURO 2024 after goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze earned a memorable win against Portugal that ensured they joined the 2016 champions in progressing from Group F.

Match in brief: Glorious Georgia sweep into last 16

Georgia celebrate in GelsenkirchenAFP via Getty Images

It was a much-changed Portugal line-up and, with less than two minutes on the clock, Georgia capitalised on their opponents' new-look 3-5-2 formation. A loose ball from António Silva was cut out by Mikautadze, who timed his pass through to Kvaratskhelia perfectly and the Napoli winger made no mistake, drilling low past the advancing Diogo Costa.

Portugal stepped up the pace as they pushed for a quick response, Giorgi Mamardashvili pushing over a thunderous Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick from range before being perfectly placed to catch João Palhinha's fierce effort. Georgia continued to look for long balls over the Portugal defence, but the pressure on their own rearguard was steadily increasing, Francisco Conceição firing into the side netting and João Félix pulling another shot wide.

Mamardashvili was equal to another João Félix strike on the stroke of half-time and clawed out Francisco Conceição's subsequent corner from under his crossbar. That pattern continued after the restart, Ronaldo having a close-range effort deflected onto the roof of the net within two minutes, but Georgia retained a threat at the other end, Kvaratskhelia miskicking in front of goal.

Portugal failed to heed the warning and within moments were two behind after António Silva was adjudged to have felled Luka Lochoshvili, allowing Mikautadze to coolly slot in from the spot.

Georgia might have increased their lead through Giorgi Chakvetadze and Zuriko Davitashvili, while at the other end Mamardashvili denied Nélson Semedo and Diogo Dalot before the Georgian celebrations could begin in earnest.

Vivo Player of the Match: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

He scored a fantastic goal, covered a lot of space, held up the ball well and defended well when required.
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Vakhtang Bzikadze, Georgia reporter

Goals from Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze gave Georgia perhaps their most famous win. Their fairy-tale EURO campaign continues into the round of 16 after a remarkable victory based on hard work and patience; Georgia waited for their chances and, when they came, they were good enough to take them. They promised that they would make some noise at their debut EURO, and they've certainly done that!

Carlos Machado, Portugal reporter

This was a defeat Portugal could afford, but it will still sting. Their strategy came up short as early as the second minute, and once again they had problems against a low block, like in their first game against Czechia. Early in the second half they conceded again against a side who were brave, did their jobs and deserved what luck they had. As for Portugal, there are lessons to learn.

Reaction

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vivo Player of the Match: "There was no individual best player today, it was the team, and we proved to everybody that we can really play. This is the best day in the lives of Georgian football fans. We've made history – no one would have believed we'd make it happen. No one would have believed we could beat Portugal, but that's why we're a strong team. If there's even a one per cent chance, we've shown we can make it happen.

"The fans have given us so much support. So many of them have been in Germany and that's one of the factors that contributed to our victory. I want to thank them all, including those who are supporting us from Georgia. We've done this together and unity makes us strong, that's what we've shown today."

Willy Sagnol, Georgia coach: "To be honest, I can't remember what I said to the players before the game, but the message was to play their football – keep your discipline when you don't have the ball and when you do have it, play. I told them to remember how they played when they were 16 or 17, without any thoughts, and they did it brilliantly today, above all expectations."

Roberto Martínez, Portugal coach: "We started with low intensity, we conceded early and that's what Georgia needed. We weren't clear-headed enough with the last pass and in front of goal, and their goalkeeper had an amazing performance. We tried to score but couldn't, and that made Georgia believe all the more. They deserved to win."

Pedro Neto, Portugal forward, to EURO2024.com: "The biggest lesson from today is that we cannot go easy in any game, especially if you start one by going behind. If it was difficult, it became harder after that as they were even more compact defending at the back, so it was very difficult for us. We still had our chances, we didn't score and luck wasn't on our side today."

Danilo, Portugal defender: "We have to learn from this game as it will be a similar game against Slovenia [in the round of 16]. They will be defending deep and trying to hit us on the counterattack. We had this game as an example and we need to do exactly the opposite of what we did today."

Key stats

• Georgia are the 29th team to reach the knockout rounds at a EURO final tournament.
• Ronaldo made his 50th appearance at either a EURO or a World Cup.
• Timed at 94 seconds, Kvaratskhelia's strike is the fifth fastest goal in EURO history.
• All of Georgia's four goals at EURO 2024 have involved Georges Mikautadze (3 goals, 1 assist). He is now the tournament's top scorer.
• Georgia have scored in 11 of their last 12 matches, including all three at EURO 2024.
• Willy Sagnol's side have found the net in the first half of seven of their last eight games.
• Roberto Martínez had won all five of his previous EURO group games as coach of Belgium and Portugal.
• Portugal had won all 12 of their competitive matches under Martínez before this encounter.
• This was only the second time Portugal failed to score in their last 12 EURO games.

Line-ups

Georgia: Mamardashvili; Gvelesiani (Kverkvelia 76), Kashia, Lochoshvili (Tsitaishvili 63); Kakabadze, Chakvetadze (Mekvabishvili 81), Kochorashvili, Kiteishvili, Dvali; Kvaratskhelia (Davitashvili 81), Mikautadze

Portugal: Diogo Costa; António Silva (Nélson Semedo 66), Danilo, Gonçalo Inácio; Dalot, João Neves (Matheus Nunes 75), Francisco Conceição, João Palhinha (Rúben Neves 46), Pedro Neto (Diogo Jota 75); Ronaldo (Gonçalo Ramos 66), João Félix