Georgia’s incredible 2-0 victory over Portugal allowed them to qualify for their first-ever major tournament—the round of 16 at Euro 2024.
At the beginning, Georgia’s goal was clear: if they defeated Portugal, they would advance to the next round. They succeeded in doing so, arranging a Sunday encounter in Gelsenkirchen with Spain.
Roberto Martinez made eight changes to his Portugal team after securing top place in Group F, which undoubtedly contributed to their haphazard performance. They will need to make improvements when they play Slovenia on Monday in Frankfurt.
Georgia, however, had no such problems and took advantage of an error by Antonio Silva inside two minutes when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced onto a through pass from Georges Mikautadze and finished past Diogo Costa.
After more careless Portugal defence, Silva was again at fault for the second goal, this time catching Luka Lochoshvili in the area.
Following a pitchside review, a penalty was awarded. Mikautadze converted it to become the tournament’s top scorer and to cap off what was undoubtedly the greatest night in Georgian football history.
Group F
| Pos. | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
WWL
|
| 2 |
 |
Turkey | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
WLW
|
| 3 |
 |
Georgia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
LDW
|
| 4 |
 |
Czech Rep | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
LDL
|
3rd Place Ranking
| Pos. | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
WDL
|
| 2 |
|
Georgia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
LDW
|
| 3 |
 |
Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
WLD
|
| 4 |
 |
Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
DDD
|
| 5 |
 |
Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
LLW
|
| 6 |
 |
Croatia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
LDD
|
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez said: “We didn’t underestimate Georgia, but Georgia were playing the game of their history and we were playing the last game when we were already top of the group.
“It was difficult for us to match the same intensity.”
Match-winner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia said: “I think there was no individual best player, it was a team.
“We have made history and no-one would believe that we would beat Portugal. But we showed everyone that the Georgian team can make it happen.
“This is the best day in my life.”
Group F results
Jun 18 |
||||||||
| FT | Turkey | |
3 | v | 1 | |
Georgia | |
| FT | Portugal | |
2 | v | 1 | |
Czech Rep | |
Jun 22 |
||||||||
| FT | Georgia | |
1 | v | 1 | |
Czech Rep | |
| FT | Turkey | |
0 | v | 3 | |
Portugal | |
Jun 26 |
||||||||
| FT | Czech Rep | |
1 | v | 2 | |
Turkey | |
| FT | Georgia | |
2 | v | 0 | |
Portugal | |
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