Download Georgia vs Portugal 2-0 Highlights | Euro 2024
GEORGIA MAKE HISTORY AND PROGRESS TO KNOCKOUT STAGE AFTER 2-0 DEFEAT OVER PORTUGAL
Georgia have beaten Portugal 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen to secure qualification to the knockout stages of the European Championship in their first major tournament.
Napoli’s Kvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring after just 93 seconds for the Crusaders after a sloppy pass from Antonio Silva gifted Georges Mikautadze the ball in a dangerous position.
Mikautadze doubled Georgia’s lead in the second period with his third goal of the tournament as he cooly converted from the spot after Silva was once again at fault for bringing down Luca Lochoshvili.
Roberto Martinez will not be overly concerned after making eight changes to the side that beat Turkey 3-0 with Portugal heading into this evening’s game having already won Group F.
Willy Sagnol’s side go through as one of the best third-placed teams and will now face Spain in the round of 16 while Portugal will take on Slovenia.
Georgia averaged the lowest possession of any team in Euro qualifying, but they did the job and made it to the finals. They lacked possession against Portugal but did what was required – and did it in style.
Kvaratskhelia set Serie A alight as Napoli won the league in 2022-23, but he hasn’t hit the same heights since. Before Wednesday’s game, he’d struggled to make an impact in Germany, but he stepped up to the task on Wednesday.
Also: Czechia vs Turkey 1-2 Highlights | Euro 2024
Georgia boss Willy Sagnol set Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze the task of sitting high up the pitch to be ready to hit Portugal when fortune came their way and they did so early on, the latter snatching a misplaced Antonio Silva pass to set up a well-taken opener.
Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was crucial in helping them to a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic, found himself with little work to do for most of the night as Portugal struggled.
Ronaldo stung his palms with a long-range free-kick and sent a deflected effort from six yards onto the roof of the net, but his impact was otherwise muted.
The 39-year-old had been looking to become the oldest player to score at the Euros but was instead reduced to kicking the turf in irritation when he went off in the second half.
For Georgia’s youngsters, however, it was a night to shine.
Mikautadze, 23, has scored in each of his nation’s group-stage games. Now Kvaratskhelia has arrived and will look to make history again in a difficult game against Spain.
Goal Scorer: K. Kvaratskhelia 2′, G. Mikautadze 57′ (P)
Watch Highlights Below
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Match stats
TEAM STATS
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7 | Shots | 22 |
3 | Shots on target | 5 |
27% | Possession | 73% |
270 | Passes | 689 |
77% | Pass accuracy | 93% |
6 | Fouls | 11 |
1 | Yellow cards | 3 |
0 | Red cards | 0 |
0 | Offsides | 1 |
1 | Corners | 11 |
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