Key events
Ben Fisher’s match report is hereso I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company on a beautiful night for association football. Bye!
This guy is a) magnificent and b) only 23, which is very young for a keeper. He could still be playing at Euro 2040.
“Well, we needed that – passionate, coherent, sides to take, jeopardy at every turn, ecstatic fans and a deserved result,” says Charles Antaki. “The other games this last couple of days had been in any case rubbish, but this would have knocked them out of the reckoning even if they’d been merely routine. Well done Georgia.”
Iceland today.
It’s kicking off at the end of the Czech Republic/Turkey game! Join Scott Murray for his blow-by-blow report.
Turkey have scored a late winner against Czech Republic. That means this will be the line up for the last 16.
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Switzerland v Italy
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Germany v Denmark
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England v Slovakia
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Spain v Georgia
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France v Belgium
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Portugal v Slovenia
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Romania v Netherlands
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Austria v Turkey
“Your colleague Eric Devin wrote a lovely article about Mikautadze and FC Metz for the Guardian back in April,” writes Kári Tulinius.
The celebrations are a thing of life-affirming beauty. Kvaratskhelia shakes hands with his hero Ronaldo and then charges over to join his mates, who are jumping around in joyous disbelief. They have deservedly beaten Portugal to reach the knockout stages in their first major tournament. Remember the date: 26 June 2024. This night bonds them forever.
Full time: Georgia 2-0 Portugal
Georgia will play Spain in the last 16 after the most glorious night in their football history. The golden boys, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, scored the goals but all the other outfield players worked like beasts, particularly in the 55 minutes between the two goals. And the goalkeeper, the mighty Giorgi Mamardashvili, played with the authority of an all-time great.
90+4 min Another long-range stinger from Dalot is pushed aside by Mamardashvili, diving to his left.
90+3 min Conceicao’s cross shot somehow evades everyone and goes just wide of the far post.
90+1 min One last save from the mighty Mamardashvili, who shows excellent reactions to paw Semedo’s volleyed cross to safety before it can reach Ramos in front of an open goal.
90 min Nunes floats a poor cross straight out of play. Georgia’s players are four minutes away from immortality.
89 min “Here in Naples, there is delight in seeing Kvaratskhelia back to his glorious self playing for his country, making those runs deep into the opponent’s half and scoring,” writes Colum Fordham. “In one of the crunch matches running up to Napoli’s scudetto victory, a match against local rivals Salernitana, there were loads of Georgia fans outside the Maradona stadium who had come specially to cheer for their national hero and for his team. So very moving to see Georgia do so well in the Euros against a top team like Portugal.”
88 min Georgia are the only team who look like scoring now. The second goal really flattened Portugal.
87 min This is delightful.
In 2013, Ronaldo opened a football academy in Georgia and one of the children there was Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Tonight, Kvaratskhelia scored in the first minute vs Portugal and they are now leading 2-0… 🤯
Unbelievable 😂👏 pic.twitter.com/mnnhIuB5jG
— Out of Context Football Manager (@XPremiumUpdate) June 26, 2024
85 min: Chance for Georgia! Mikautadze nutmegs Joao Felix on the left and pokes a lovely pass through to Davitashvili, who splashes a left-foot shot into the side netting.
Forget the goals, Mikautadze looks an extremely good all-round centre forward.
85 min Mekvabishvili is booked for a tactical foul on Matheus Nunes.
84 min Ruben Neves’s overhit cross goes over the bar. Portugal have been poor.
83 min Conceicao tries to dribble past Kakabadze, who times his challenge immaculately, runs 30 yards and wins a throw-in. And with it, a breather.
82 min Matheus Nunes mistimes his header at the far post after a cross from the left. It didn’t look a great chance but I’d like to see a replay before I absolve him.
81 min: Double substitution for Georgia Zuriko Davitashvili and Anzor Mekvabishvili replace the outstanding pair of Giorgi Chakvetadze and Khvicha Karavtskhelia.
79 min Georgia look as comfortable as they have all night. This really, really, really could happen.
76 min: Georgia substitution Solomon Kvirkvelia comes on for Giorgi Bvelesiani.
76 min “I’m Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest fan so my blood is literally boiling,” growls Liisa Sletzinger. “From the start I didn’t get what the Portugal coach was thinking. Isn’t the disappointment of a national team often that the players don’t play together much and thus don’t gel, and then underperform? So what if Portugal are already through, the core team should still play to continue much-needed syncing. A few subs sure, but eight?”
I can see both sides! It worked for Spain to change the whole team, as it has in previous tournaments. Personally I’d drop Ronaldo but that’s just my opinion. Let’s be honest, we’ve all got one.
75 min: Portugal substitution Diogo Jota replaces Pedro Neto. And Matheus Nunes comes on for Joao Neves.
74 min Conceicao digs out a dangerous cross that is held with authority by Mamardashvili. He has been immense in the last two games.
72 min “The penalty was a wee bit soft but surely what convinced the VAR was the hilarious reaction from the Portuguese player who committed the foul,” says Stephen McCrossan. “He knew what was coming. Watch it again – I burst out laughing!”
71 min: Chance for Georgia! Portugal continue to give a textbook demonstration of the concept of sterile domination. Then they lose the ball and Georgia break three on three. Chakvetadze charges from the halfway line to the edge of the area before hammering a shot just over the bar.
69 min “You’re absolutely right, now the save counts for nothing but highlight reels,” says Kári Tulinius. “Trying to follow two matches at once, both featuring teams in white and red shirts, makes it difficult to keep the timelines straight.”
They should make one of us liveblog simultaneous games for the craic.
68 min Joao Neves tries an overhead kick and boots Kakabadze in the back of the head. He stays down for a bit but seems okay.
66 min Conceicao whistles a shot over the bar from the edge of the area. Meanwhile the Czech Republic have equalised against Turkey, who are suddenly fighting for their Euro 2024 life.
66 min: Double substitution for Portugal Goncalo Ramos and Nelson Semedo replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who boots the turf in frustration, and Antonio Silva.
65 min Portugal will win the group regardless, but the good mood of the first two games has evaporated.
Meanwhile Kvaratskhelia zig-zags gloriously between three players and is brought down.
63 min: Georgia substitution Giorgi Tsitaishvili replaces the weary Luka Lochoshvili.
62 min “Mamardashvili’s save looks even better now,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Not to take anything away from the outfield players, but a goalkeeper of his quality can be the difference between glory and desolation.
Hang on, does it even count now? The penalty was given so anything that happened after the tackle by Antonio Silva is void, no? It doesn’t change the fact it was a helluva save though.
61 min Kvaratskehlia cuts into the area, twists one way and then the other before being desperately tackled by Dalot.
60 min Poor Antonio Silva, the young Benfica defender, has had a miserable night. He was at fault for both goals and took a half chance off Ronaldo’s head in the first half.