Portugal were stunned by Georgia in the Euro 2024 on Thursday (IST) with Cristiano Ronado failing to strike again. Appearing at their first European Championship, Georgia had to record their first ever victory at the tournament to reach the last 16 when they played Portugal in Gelsenkirchen. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal had already qualified for the last 16 as Group F winners, and their coach Roberto Martinez made eight changes to his team. Georgia went ahead inside the opening two minutes thanks to a fine finish from their star player, Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Georges Mikautadze, who set up that goal, made it 2-0 from the penalty spot early in the second half to become the competition’s top scorer on three.
It was a frustrating night for Portugal, who were denied on several occasions by Georgia’s impressive goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The 39-year-old Ronaldo, who has a Euros record tally of 14 goals, was left still waiting for his first at this year’s competition.
Georgia, ranked 74th in the world, will now play much-fancied Spain in the next round on Sunday in Cologne, having progressed as one of the four best third-placed sides.
The match also saw an terrifying moment as Ronaldo almost got kicked by a fan who jumped out of the stands as the five-time Ballon d’Or headed down the tunnel. The fan was inched short of landing on Ronaldo but the stewards somehow pushed him away.
This is crazy.pic.twitter.com/Rc1eLon23D
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) June 27, 2024
Meanwhile, it is a remarkable achievement for Georgia, the former Soviet Republic which is a candidate for European Union membership but is currently immersed in political turmoil over controversial “foreign influence” legislation.
Turkey finished second in the same group after a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in Hamburg, as their opponents were eliminated.
Cenk Tosun’s goal in stoppage time sealed the victory for Turkey, who had been playing with an extra man since the 20th-minute sending-off of Antonin Barak.
With AFP inputs
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