Cinderella of the tournament, Georgia had surprised with its strength against Turkey (3-1 loss) and against the Czech Republic (1-1). This time it was only worth winning against a Portuguese team that already had first place tied.
The plan went perfectly. Practically in the first play Antonio Silva gave a pass in the center of the field, Mikautadze led and Kvaratskhelia finished.
Portuguese coach Roberto Martinez had made eight changes to the team that beat Turkey 3-0. It is not the same to have Pepe, who was imperial at 41 years of age in the first two games, as Silva, betrayed by nerves.
After the early goal, the physiognomy of the match was completely defined. Georgia gathered lines, very organized and attentive to mount more counterattacks.
It was up to Portugal to arm itself with patience in the permanent search for Ronaldo, in the hunt to score in its sixth European Championship – it celebrated in the previous five. At 39 years old, the legend of the five Ballon d’Ors was playing his 50th game in the competition since he made his debut in Portugal 2004.
The candidate’s domination of the group was total: eleven shots at the end of the first half, with 71% of the possession, but Georgia did not feel the pressure.
Despite the Portuguese superiority, they were never able to break the siege of the Georgian area. Mamardashvili’s saving flight into a Diogo Dalot cannon (54) had special merit. But everything changed when the referee received a call to rewind that action. In the other area Luka Lochoshvili had been touched by Silva and the VAR decided it was a penalty.
Mikautadze hit the post and scored his third goal in the Euro Cup, of which he is the leading scorer.
With Georgia on the way to heroics, Martínez decided it was time to rest Ronaldo, who was replaced in the 65th minute by Gonçalo Ramos. The rotation of its cash had gone wrong for Portugal, but in the round of 16 the real Euro Cup begins.
In the other game of the group, Türkiye qualified for the round of 16 of the Eurocup after beating the Czech Republic (2-1), this Wednesday in Hamburg, on the third and final day of group F.
With 6 points, Turkey finishes second in its group, behind Portugal, which finished with the same score, while the Czechs (1 point) are bottom and eliminated. The Turks will face Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday in Leipzig.
Romania beat Belgium in the group
Romania tied 1-1 with his pair of Slovakiain a match corresponding to the last date of Group E of the Euro Cupand advanced as first in a zone where everyone finished with four points.
Belgium finished second in the group after a goalless draw against Ukraine, which for its part finished in fourth place.
The Romanians started at a disadvantage against the Slovaks, who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through midfielder Ondrej Duda. The latter scored an unstoppable header for the rival goalkeeper, Florin Nita, after a precise cross from defender Peter Pekarík.
With this result, those led by Italian Francesco Calzona went first in their group, but Romania managed to snatch this place when they scored the tying goal in the 37th minute through a penalty taken by midfielder Razvan Marin.
At the same time, it was not enough for Ukraine to rescue a draw against Belgium, which at no time was able to take advantage despite the great world stars it has on its roster.
With these results, the peculiarity was that all the teams finished this group with four points each, but by goal difference Romania was first, Belgium second, Slovakia third (it passed as one of the best third parties) and Ukraine fourth.
In the case of Romania and Belgium, the first should have been defined by the number of goals scored, since both had the same difference.
In the round of 16, Romania will play against one of the best third parties (yet to be defined), while Belgium will have a very tough match with France. Slovakia, for its part, still does not know its next rival.
