The Euro 2024 had to wait till the last game of the group stages to witness the biggest upset yet as Georgia managed to stun a disappointing Portugal side to win 2-0. As a result, Georgia managed to book their place in the Round of 16 in what is their first ever outing at any major international tournament.
Heading into the game, Georgia were stuck at the bottom of the table with only a single point to their name. The only way for them to qualify for the knockout stages was by ensuring a victory against a Portugal side that had won both of their group games. Having already qualified to the knockouts, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez decided to field a brand new starting lineup with 8 changes to the team that had won against Czechia and Turkey.
Georgia stirs up a David v Goliath story against Portugal
Despite being the lowest FIFA ranked team in the tournament, Georgia had already proven their mettle by securing a draw against Czechia and losing extremely narrowly to Turkey. While most fans would have ruled Georgia out before the game had even started, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was extremely quick to announce that he had different plans.
The Napoli forward pounced on a misdirected back pass by Antonio Silva and produced a silky finish to give Georgia the lead just two minutes into the game. Portugal managed the dominate the rest of the first half, conjuring up 11 shots as well as outpassing Georgia 391 to 158. However, the dominance did not amount to anything as the Georgia defence stood firm.
It was the same story in the second half as Portugal kept on knocking at Georgia's door, only to be repeatedly denied entry. However, Portugal were found lacking in their defense once again as VAR ruled that Antonio Silva had fouled Otar Kiteishvili inside the Portugal penalty box, resulting in a penalty 11 minutes into the second half.
Georges Mikautadze stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake in slotting the ball past the outstretched hand of Diogo Costa. The Georgia fans were sent into a state of Euphoria while Portugal were left shell shocked. With the penalty, Mikautadze increased his goal tally to 3 and currently sits at the top of the goal scorers list at the Euro 2024.
Even after going down 2-0, Portugal kept on trying to break down the Georgia defense, and even when they managed to, it was goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who stood tall protecting the Georgian net. The Valencia goalkeeper made three incredible saves against Diogo Dalot, Danilo and Nelson Semedo to ensure that Georgia could etch their name into the football history books.
Georgia will now face Spain in the Round of 16 and the Georgian players will surely carry a lot of confidence and faith into the game after their historic performance against Portugal. As for Portugal, they will go up against Slovenia in the same round.