GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Fans came to Gelsenkirchen to watch Portugal's No. 7, Cristiano Ronaldo, make more history, but left Arena AufSchalke after seeing Georgia's No. 7, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, boosted by more than 15,000 his compatriots, leading his nation into the round of 16 of a major tournament for the first time.
This was a night that will live long in the memory of Napoli winger Kvaratskhelia, who scored the first goal in the 2-0 win, and every other Georgian, whether they watch it in the stadium or on a screen in the capital , Tbilisi, which witnessed how the team ranked 74th in the FIFA rankings beat the sixth best. Almost 10 minutes after the final whistle, some players still couldn't believe it. After leading the fans in chants and applause, they clutched their heads, struggling to comprehend the round of 16 tie that now awaits them against Spain in Cologne on Sunday.
His coach, Willy Sagnol, only allowed himself to believe once the match had stopped. He joined Bayern Munich as a player a year after the German side lost the 1999 Champions League final to Manchester United in stoppage time and that was on his mind as time ticked away here.
“If you want me to be honest, it's when the referee whistled at the end. [that I believed]” he said at a press conference. “Football has generated many stories like that, when you think that you are winning and losing in the last minute, Bayern against United comes to mind. I was checking the time, every 10 seconds, and at the end I felt very empty.
“We dreamed of qualifying, but we didn't think it was feasible. I thought we had reached our peak with qualification in March, but football is never written in advance.”
In fact, the narrative was set in Georgia's first game in Germany. They may have lost to Turkey, but the lowest-ranked team at Euro 2024 won many hearts with a spirited performance in one of the most entertaining phases of the group stage. They followed it up with a draw against Czechia, setting the stage for Wednesday's historic night.
In Kvaratskhelia, winner of Serie A with Napoli, they have one of the best wingers on the continent. When he receives the ball, the rumor is heard among the fans that anything is possible. It only took 92 seconds for him to open the scoring, finishing well after a play by his teammate Georges Mikautadze. It is the earliest goal that Portugal has conceded in a European Championship.
Ronaldo gave his shirt to Kvaratskhelia after his performance in the MOTM against Portugal 🤝💯 pic.twitter.com/k4blrPAlF0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 26, 2024
Chants of “Khvicha” echoed throughout the stadium. This was quickly becoming a performance worthy of wearing the number 7 jersey for any country in the tournament.
A brilliant run in the 35th minute led to a free kick and relieved the pressure on their defence. A similar run in the 65th minute, with Georgia up 2-0, had a similar effect and drew more adulation from fans. It was in contrast to the fate of Portugal's number 7, Ronaldo, who was substituted in the same minute after a quiet night.
It had not been a quiet day in Gelsenkirchen, however, as Ronaldo's roadshow came to town. Fans filled the air with their usual “Siuuuuuu” shout as they got off the train and drank in the squares, Georgia fans responded with Lionel Messi chants. There were shirts from all of his former clubs, Sporting Club, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, and from his current teams, Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia and the Portuguese national team, all with his name on the back.
They had come to see him make more history. Despite making eight changes with the group pass already sealed, coach Roberto Martínez kept Ronaldo as his central striker. “He needs a competitive rhythm, it's no use stopping and starting,” Martínez explained.
A goal would have made Ronaldo, now 39, the oldest goalscorer in the European Championship. He is already the top scorer (14) and top assist scorer (8) in the history of the tournament, but the next record will have to wait. Now, for the first time in his history, he has failed to score in the group stage of a major tournament, the end of an incredible run that began at Euro 2004.
For once, it was the other No. 7, who said he had grown up idolising Ronaldo and collected his shirt after the match.
“I received Ronaldo's shirt and we have moved on to the next round,” Kvaratskhelia, named UEFA Man of the Match, said at a press conference. “This is the best day in the life of Georgian football fans. We have made history, no one would believe that we would achieve it. No one would believe that we could beat Portugal, but that is why we are a strong team; if there is even a 1% chance , we have shown that we can achieve it.
“Before the game there was a meeting [with Ronaldo] “And he wished me success, I never imagined he would come to talk to me. He is a great player and a great person. That is why he is a great personality inside and outside of football; I have a lot of respect for him, he is one of the best players in the world. “When he comes to talk to you before the game, it's amazing; that helped us believe we could do something today.”
But it wasn't just Kvaratskhelia. His strike partner Mikautadze was electric, setting up the opening goal and converting the second, a penalty awarded after a VAR check. The French-born striker is the tournament's top scorer with three goals (more than the entire French team) and is only the ninth person to score three or more in the group stage in history.
Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who didn't have to be as good as he was against Czechia when he made a tournament-high 11 saves, impressed again. He may have been Germany's best goalkeeper.
“If you analyse them, you would talk about their goalkeeper, who has been at the highest level for three years and has had a wonderful game, and Kvaratskhelia, who is one of the five best dribblers in Europe,” Portuguese coach Martinez said at a press conference.
“The only surprise was that they managed to maintain the intensity and confidence during the 90 minutes, because only in the last 10 minutes did we have clear chances. Their coach has done a wonderful job.”
Diverting attention, Kvaratskhelia added: “There wasn't a better individual player today. It was the team, and we showed everyone that we can really play.”
As the enthusiastic fans left the Arena AufSchalke, the Napoli jerseys among the red-and-white Georgia jerseys becoming more evident, the chants of “Khvicha” now louder than at any other time of the day. Their diversion tactics probably won't go over well with the nearly 3.8 million Georgians at home, who will never forget where they were when No. 7 Georgia was the name on everyone's lips.
