Georgia 2-0 Portugal: Debutants stun Cristiano Ronaldo and Co

The talk in the Georgian press on Wednesday was all about which of their players would get Cristiano Ronaldo's shirt when the full-time whistle went in Gelsenkirchen.

For Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who spoke pre-match about his lifelong dream of playing against Ronaldo, the intention was clear.

‘Dreams come true,' he said, as he stressed his desire to get Ronaldo's shirt.

Yet when whistle went on this balmy night in Westphalia, a different kind of dream came true as Kvaratskhelia and Georgia pulled off the mother of all shocks to qualify for the last 16.

‘This is the best day in the history of Georgian football,' said Kvaratskhelia. ‘If there is even one per cent of belief, we believe. This is the best day in my life,' he admitted.





Georgia celebrated their first-ever major tournament victory against Portugal on Wednesday






Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring for the bottom-placed minutes after 90 seconds





Georges Mikautadze was nerveless from the spot after Georgia were awarded a penalty



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Regardless of what happens on Saturday against Spain, Willy Sagnol and his men will go down as heroes.

‘I told the players to remember when they were 16 or 17 and they played without fear, said Sagnol. ‘They did that brilliantly,' the Frenchman added.

With their first-ever win at a major tournament, they ensured England will face Slovakia and not the Netherlands on Sunday.

Georgia put in the performance of their lives, scoring after 93 seconds through Kvaratskhelia before Georges Mikautadze's second-half penalty gave them room to breathe.

Man by man, they battled valiantly to keep out Portugal and had goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to thank.

‘Their goalkeeper had an amazing performance. We tried to score and we couldn't,' admitted Portugal boss Roberto Martinez, ‘It was a deserved victory,' he added.




Cristiano Ronaldo started for Roberto Martinez's side in his 50th major tournament fixture





Substituted in the second-half, the Al-Nassr forward cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines







Georgia 2-0 Portugal: Match facts
Georgia (3-5-2): Mamardashvili 8; Kakabadze 7, Gvelesiani 7 (Kverkvelia 76,6), Kashia 8, Locoshvili 7 (Tsitaishvili 63, 6), Dvali 7; Chakvetadze 7, Kochorashvili 7, Kiteishvili 7; Mikautadze 8, Kvaratskhelia 8.

Substitutes not used: Loria, Gugeshashvili, Tabidze, Gocholeishvili, Altunashvili, Lobjanidze, Kvekveskiri, Sigua, Kvilitaia, Zivzivadze, Shengelia

Goals: Kvaratskhelia (2'), Mikautadze (57')

Booked: Mekvabishvili

Manager: Willy Sagnol

Portugal (3-4-2-1): Costa 5; Silva 4 (Semedo 66,5), Danilo 5, Inacio 5; Dalot 5, Neves 5 (Nunes 75, 5), Conceicao 6, Palhinha 5 (Neves 45, 6), Neto 5 (Jota 75, 5), Felix 5; Ronaldo 6 (Ramos 66, 5). 

Substitutes not used: Patricio, Sa, Pepe, Mendes, Cancelo, Dias, Vitinha, Silva, Fernandes

Goals: 

Booked: Ronaldo, Neto, R Neves

Manager: Roberto Martinez 



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Kvaratskhelia's competent and energetic performance was symptomatic of the entire team





Georgia were roared on by support in full voice - despite kicking off in last place in their group

His side will face Slovenia on Monday.



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With their position as group winners secured before the game, Martinez made eight changes but Ronaldo kept his place.

A staggering 68 places in the world rankings — the largest gap in the tournament — separated the two, but within two minutes Georgia were in dreamland. Antonio Silva carelessly lost the ball by the halfway line and Mikautadze pounced, driving forward before wonderfully teeing up Kvaratskhelia, who finished in style in front of the Georgia end.

Tickets for Georgia's three group games had sold out within an hour and they came in their masses from Tbilisi, Batumi and beyond.

Earlier in the day on the platform at Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof, those Georgian fans had sarcastically responded to chants of ‘Suiii' from the Portugal supporters with a chant of ‘Messi'.









Giorgi Mamardashvili had another impressive performance between the sticks for the team





The Valencia shot-stopper was a solid presence for Georgia as Portugal dominated for long swathes of the tie





Despite a raft of chances, gürcistan ev fiyatları Portugal seemed fated to end up without getting on the score sheet

Now they were chanting the name of ‘The Georgian Messi', as Kvaratskhelia is known.

Silva's misery was compounded as he gave away a penalty and Mikautadze converted to send the Georgian fans into delirium.

In Blankenhain, 170 miles or so away, perhaps even the England camp afforded themselves a little smile.

But this was Georgia's night and the joyous scenes at full time would have echoed all the way from Gelsenkirchen to Tbilisi.


Cristiano RonaldoPortugal Football