GEORGIA clinched a spot in the Euro 2024 knockout stage after a 2-0 stunner against Portugal on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila) at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze scored a goal each for Georgia, which ended their Group F assignment with four points on one win, one draw, and a loss.
Georgia, which finished third in their group, reached the round of 16 as one of the three best third-place teams in the competition, aside from Group C’s Slovenia and Group D’s Netherlands.
Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring for Georgia 93 seconds into the contest as he knocked down a low shot from an intercepted possession by Mikautadze.
Mikautadze doubled the advantage in the 57th minute as he converted a penalty kick after his teammate Luka Lochoshvili was tripped by Portugal’s António Silva inside the box.
Kvaratskhelia, who was named Man of the Match, said he was inspired to lead Georgia to a huge win after his pre-game conversation with his idol, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Before the match, there was a meeting and he wished me success and it was so much for me because I would never imagine that he would come to me and say something to me,” Kvaratskhelia said.
Even with the loss, Portugal still moved on to the next round as they finished on top of Group F with six points, tied with Turkey, which scored a 2-1 victory over Czechia.
In Group E matches, Slovakia and Romania settled for a 1-1 draw, while Ukraine and Belgium ended without a conversion as they all ended with four points each.
Romania, Belgium, and Slovakia earned the round-of-16 slots from Group E due to goal difference, while Ukraine bowed out of the tournament./PN
