Georgia shocks Portugal, secures knockout clash with Spain

2016 UEFA Euros winners Portugal were denied a 100% record in the group stage on Wednesday when they were beaten 2-0 by Georgia, who secured their first victory in the history of the championships and also moved to the knockout stages of the competition in just their first appearance.

Georgia is the only debutant this year, and they were grouped alongside the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Portugal. While they lost their opening game to Turkey in a 3-1 defeat, the team bounced back in their second group stage game with a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic before Wednesday’s clash with Portugal.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese were one of the few teams that managed to secure qualification for the next round of the competition after the first two matches, having won their first two games against the Czech Republic 2-1 and 3-0 against Turkey.

Georgia knew that their destiny was in their own hands and that they needed a win, regardless of whatever happened between the Czech Republic and Turkey in the other game.

The odds were stacked against Georgia, who were looking to beat one of the in-form teams in the tournament. It wasn’t surprising as they are the tournament’s lowest-ranked nation and also seeking a first-ever major tournament win as an independent nation.

They started well as they took the lead as the top scorer in the tournament, Georges Mikautadze, provided Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with a well-laid pass as he fired home past the Portugal goalkeeper two minutes into the game.

Despite the momentum in favor of Portugal, Georgia took the lead into the break before Georges Mikautadze added to his goal tally with his third goal of the tournament and Georgia’s second goal of the night.

Georgia continued their act of not losing a match after scoring first, stretching their record to nineteen games. Willy Sagnol’s men also had goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to thank for his heroics in goal. Georgia will now face Spain in the next round, while Portugal will tackle Slovenia, and Turkey will be paired with Austria.