Georgia’s No 7 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia outshines idol Criano Ronaldo in hory-making 2-0 victory | Football News

“Will I ask Criano for his jersey after the game? Maybe. Probably. OK, yes. Why not? He is my idol. I will tell him that. But that does not mean we can’t win,” This was what Georgia’s No.7 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had written in the Players Tribune last week. Ten days later, Georgia outplayed Portugal and notched up a horic 2-0 win.The two number 7s have a connection. Recently an old picture of the two started making rounds on the internet. It from 2013 when Criano Ronaldo, a certified Real Madrid superstar then, had visited the Dinamo Tbilisi Academy in Georgia.
In that picture,Kvaratskhelia, a 12-year-old boy then, was poking his head from over the crowd standing around Ronaldo. On Thursday night, the boy, now a 23-year-old man, made sure that the picture was back in circulation as he helped Georgia qualify for the next round of the Euro.
The Veltins-Arena witnessed hory on the night when Kvaratskhelia not only outshone his much more decorated Portuguese counterpart, he ensured that his country, the lowest ranked team in this tournament, can dream just a bit bigger.
The goal that started it all
93 seconds. That was all it took for Kvaratskhelia to stun Portugal. The Selecao looked shell shocked as the Georgia players wheeled off in celebrations with the match not even 2 minutes old. Portugal’s Antonio Silva, playing his first match of the Euro, saw Kvaratskhelia bearing down on him a few yards away from the centre circle. With the nerves getting the best of him, he tried to pass it to a near teammate but ended up giving the ball away to an advancing Georges Mikautadze.
Kvaratskhelia, one of the most in demand wingers in the world right now after his 2022/23 title Serie A title winning season with Napoli, started ramping up the speed from the left, running past the flabbergasted Silva who was unable to keep up with the Georgian’s pace. Mikautadze would see the run and threaded a pass through to him which he slotted cooly to the left of the keeper.
The move for the goal was simple and straightforward, a classic counter attack, something of a rarity in this era. It perfectly encapsulated how Georgia have played this tournament, an uncomplicated, kamikaze style of attack.
From the brink of despair to the edge of ecstasy
Against Turkey in their opening match, the approach did not work well with the Georgia side falling to a 3-1 defeat. That must have brought back memories of the time when in 2020, Georgia lost in the playoffs to North Macedonia, failing to qualify for that edition of the Euro.
“I remember the disappointment we experienced. It completely broke us down, as players and as a country. People lost all the joy with football and sports. We had such a big chance, we were playing at home against North Macedonia and should have won. It was difficult at that time and I think we didn’t prepare well as it was Covid time,” captain Guram Kashia had told the Guardian in the run-up to Euro 2024.
After the loss to Turkey, it would have been easy for Georgia players and their captain to lose hope and alter their system and opt for a much more conservative brand of football. But they decided against it and went all out against the Czech Republic and dragged out a 1-1 draw.
Kvaratskhelia’s goal against Portugal was the rubber stamp on the credentials of their system, with Georgia sitting deep for most of the match, absorbing everything Criano Ronaldo and co were throwing at them before breaking with counters.
The second of Georgia’s goals came at the expense of Portugal’s desperation to get something from the match, leaving the defence light. Luka Lochoshvili tried to take advantage of the gaps in the Portuguese defence, marauding inside the penalty box before he was bundled over Silva. The referee gave a penalty and Mikautadze calmly beat the keeper from the spot.
9 minutes after the goal, Portugal subbed off a fuming Ronaldo who kicked at the turf out of frustration while Georgia’s No.7 continued to run rings around the Selecao defence. A study in contrast, if there was ever one.
Georgia next play Spain in the Round of 16, a team they haven’t beaten since 2016. But after the display on Thursday night, all bets are off. Why? “Because football is football. Nobody knows. Nobody thought we would even qualify. Now they don’t believe again. They say Georgia has no chance. But do you know what I say? I say…. They didn’t ask any Georgians,” as Kvaratskhelia so articulately put it last week in an Tribune article.