The FIFA World Cup or the Euro requires a dramatic story of the underdogs to make it memorable. With the odds stacked against them and by following an unconventional, winding route, the Caucasus nation – Georgia - had reached its first-ever major tournament.
Georgia did not cruise to Euro 2024 by finishing in the top two of their qualifying group - instead, they took advantage of the opportunity provided to them by their outstanding performance in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.
Georgia, actually, came fourth in their Euros qualifying group behind Spain, Scotland and
Norway as they picked up just eight points and were thumped 7-1 by the
Spaniards along the way. Still, their near-flawless Nations League campaign in
2022, where they dropped just two points in six games as they won Group Four of
League C, earned them a European Championship qualifying play-off place.
It was confirmed that they would need to take the play-off route with two games still to play in the race to reach Germany, as Scotland secured the second spot behind leaders Spain in Group A. The League C path contained the three Nations League C group winners - Georgia, Greece and Kazakhstan - and the League C group runner-up, Luxembourg.
Coached by
former French star – Willy Sangol, Georgia were automatically drawn against
Luxembourg in the semi-final and eased to victory without their talisman
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was suspended.
Instead, it was Karlsruher striker Budu Zivzivadze,who emerged as the hero on the night, bagging a brace to send his country to the final.
And last
night, they beat one of the better teams of Euro 2024 – Portugal by a margin of
2-0 to earn a spot in the Round of 16.
Georgia had to win to avoid elimination while Portugal came into the game with a place in the last 16 already boxed off. Roberto MartÃnez changed nine of his 10 outfield players, Cristiano Ronaldo the only survivor from their impressive win over Turkey. Diogo Costa remained in goal and with 92 seconds on the clock it was the Portugal goalkeeper who was fishing the ball out of his net.
Portugal
struggled to cope with Georgia’s intensity and hunger.
At the end
of the first half, Portugal had recorded twice as many touches and 11 shots
compared to their opponents’ three.
But there was only one that mattered, Kvaratskhelia drilling the ball across Costa and into the far corner to register his first goal at a major tournament.
Diogo Dalot
forced a phenomenal left-hand save from Giorgi Marmardashvili, who was
absolutely brilliant in the Georgia goal, but, then, the referee pressed pause
as the VAR reviewed Lochoshvili’s fall inside the box at the start of the phase
of play.
The referee
headed to the pitch-side VAR monitor and then pointed to the penalty spot,
confirming Silva, who was later withdrawn alongside Ronaldo, swiped at the
midfielder.
Mikautadze side-footed his spot-kick into the corner and while Costa went the right way, neither he nor Portugal were a match for Georgia.
That was it!
After the
final whistle, the Georgian joy knew no bounds – players thumped their chests,
clenched their fists, screamed with joy, shed tears of satisfaction, hugged
each other, looked at the sky to thank God and continued their celebration so
that this fairy tale night never ends.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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