\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Georgia hero, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, says a pre-match meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo helped inspire belief that his team could cause a historic upset against Portugal and qualify for the round of 16 of Euro 2024 on Wednesday<\/p>\n
Georgia went on to win 2-0 against Euro 2016 winners Portugal at the Arena AufSchalke, with Kvaratskhelia opening the scoring after just 92 seconds and Georges Mikautadze, the tournament\u2019s top scorer with three, adding the second via a penalty.<\/p>\n
The victory set up a meeting with Spain as Georgia reached the knockout stages in their debut appearance in a major tournament, while Kvaratskhelia left with Ronaldo\u2019s shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got Ronaldo\u2019s jersey and we\u2019ve made it through to the next round,\u201d said Kvaratskhelia, who labelled the Portugal No.7 his boyhood idol before the game, in a news conference via a translator.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the best day in the lives of Georgian football fans. We\u2019ve made history, no one would believe we\u2019d make it happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one would believe we could beat Portugal but that\u2019s why we\u2019re a strong team; if there\u2019s even a 1% chance, we\u2019ve shown we can make it happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the match there was a meeting [with Ronaldo] and he wished me success; I\u2019d never imagine he would come and talk to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great player and a great person. That\u2019s why he\u2019s a great personality in and out of football; I have so much respect for him, he\u2019s one of the best players in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he comes to talk to you before the match, that\u2019s amazing; that helped us believe we could do something today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kvaratskhelia, 23, has tasted success in club football, winning Italy\u2019s Serie A with Napoli in 2023, but says writing history with his country was the best day of his life.<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Georgia hero, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, says a pre-match meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo helped inspire belief that his team could cause a historic upset against Portugal and qualify for the round of 16 of Euro 2024 on Wednesday Georgia went on to win 2-0 against Euro 2016 winners Portugal at the Arena AufSchalke, with Kvaratskhelia opening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
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