Kvaratskhelia’s Georgia upset Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0 to reach the last 16 at Euro

Gelsenkirchen: A pre-game chat with Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georgia to one of the biggest upsets in European Championship history, beating Portugal 2-0 and advancing to the last 16.

Georgia’s No. 7 has admired Ronaldo for years and had spoken before the game of how much he wanted his hero’s shirt. He got it, along with a goal and a slice of soccer history, on a frustrating night for Ronaldo and Portugal.

“Before the match there was a meeting and he wished me success and it was so much for me because I would never imagine that he would come to me and say something to me,” Kvaratskhelia said in translated comments. “I realized that I could do and we could do so many things today because it gave me inspiration.”

For Napoli forward Kvaratskhelia, the win even surpasses his club’s historic Italian title last year.

“This is the best day in my life because it was more difficult to do it with the Georgian team than with Napoli,” he said. A banner at the Georgian fans’ end of the stadium said “Believe,” and they did.

The Georgians needed a win to reach the knockout stage at Euro 2024 and got their opening goal after only 93 seconds. Georges Mikautadze intercepted a poor pass and set up Kvaratskelia to score with a low shot.

António Silva gave away the ball before the first goal and gave away a penalty for the second, tripping Luka Lochoshvili inside the penalty area. Mikautadze hit the spot kick low and past Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 57th minute.

Georgia advanced in its debut at a major tournament as one of the best third-place teams. Portugal had already qualified from Group F after winning its first two

games.