Already after the premier promotion to the Euros, huge euphoria flooded Georgia with a population of three million. “It means a lot for our country, after the promotion there was a celebration in the streets for about a week,” said former Georgian national team player Vakhtang Chanturishvili, who plays for Jablonec, after advancing from the qualifiers via Greece.
And now the jubilation in the country with the flag of five crosses reaches its maximum. βIt’s the best day in the life of football fans in Georgia. We made history. Nobody believed that we could beat Portugal and yet we did it and showed that we have a strong team. We are extremely happy, but tomorrow we will start thinking about the next match,” rejoiced the biggest star of Portugal’s conquerors, ChviΔa Kvaracchelija.
“But no one was the best player, we played as a team and showed everyone that we know how to play football,” he added.
TBILISI NOW π¬πͺ: People celebrate the historic victory against Portugal thus advancing in @EURO2024.
Cars honk, people chant and congratulate each other in the streets!
Georgia is celebrating the historic day!
Georgia is the winner! π¬πͺπ¬πͺπ¬πͺπ¬πͺπ¬πͺ pic.twitter.com/ydMipjneDa
β Katie Shoshiashvili (@KShoshiashvili) June 26, 2024
The second minute was running when Antonio Silva punished Mikautadze with a back pass, who found Kvaracchelija brilliantly and he opened the scoring with ease. And in the 57th minute, Mikautadze himself made it 2-0 from a penalty kick ordered for a foul by underdog Antonio Silva on LoΔoΕ‘vili. The bulletproof Giorgi Mamardashvili, who kept a clean sheet with a great performance, also has a big share in the progress.
By the way, for the first time in his career at a major tournament, Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo did not score in the group stage. “We got off to a slow start, conceded an early goal and that was exactly what Georgia needed. In the semi-final phase and in front of the goal, we acted rashly and their goalkeeper made a fantastic save. Georgia deserved to win,” said Portugal coach Roberto MartΓnez.
Photo: Bernadett Szabo, Reuters
Georgian players celebrate historic progress after victory over Portugal.
“Georgia was playing to make history and we were no match for them,” he added, referring to one of the tournament’s biggest surprises.
Well, tell me, would you tip Mikautadze, playing for Meta, after the basic groups, to be the best scorer of the championship? If we include his assists, he has contributed to all four of Georgia’s goals in the championship, twice as many as any player at the Euros.
3 – Georges Mikautadze is the first player to score or assist in each of his first three games at the UEFA European Championship since Gareth Bale for Wales in 2016. Stage. #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/4f1DAydJV5
β OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 26, 2024
The last time Gareth Bale did something similar, i.e. to score or set up a goal in each of the opening three matches at the European Championship, was eight years ago in France. Then Wales sensationally made it all the way to the semi-finals, where will Georgia end up?
2024-06-26 23:39:25
#Georgia #euphoria #history #believed #cheering #star #championships #biggest #surprise
