04:33 PM
Despite facing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Félix and Pedro Neto, Georgia was undeterred and arrived at the Arena AufSchalke with the dream of making a splash. A poor start by Portugal in the first minutes allowed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to open the scoring, causing delirium among their fans.
The Napoli idol surprised Diogo Costa with a violent shot, marking the first difference when Sandro Schärer’s stopwatch had not yet reached 2 minutes. This premature goal set the tone of the match and showed that Georgia was ready to fight.
The team led by Roberto Martínez tried to react with mid-distance shots from CR7, Joao Félix and Diogo Dalot, but those led by Willy Sagnol maintained their resistance. In the second half, Georgia extended its advantage through a perfect penalty taken by Georges Mikautadze. The intervention of the VAR was decisive for Sandro Schärer to review an infringement by António Silva on Luka Lochoshvili inside the area, which led to the maximum penalty.
The Georgian team never doubted its potential and achieved an epic feat by beating Portugal 2-0, guaranteeing its advancement to the last 16 stage. This win is not only a milestone for Georgia, but also sends a clear message to their future rivals: they are here to compete at the highest level.
With the satisfaction of having struck the blow and advanced to the round of 16, Georgia’s next challenge will focus on Spain, another power with aspirations to win the trophy. Spain represents a formidable challenge, but Georgia’s performance so far has shown that they are prepared to face any adversity.
For its part, Portugal will seek to reverse the pale image it left with its alternative team when it faces Slovenia. Despite being a rival that appears to be accessible, Portugal will have to improve significantly to avoid another surprise and continue in the competition.
The spectacle of Euro 2024 continues, and Georgia has shown that in football, dreams can come true with effort, determination and a pinch of magic.
