Rotated Portugal suffer shock defeat to Georgia
Georgia pulled off one of the great European Championship upsets as they secured a stunning 2-0 victory over Portugal in the closing game of the group stage.
Portugal, who had already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners, fielded a heavily rotated XI, with only Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Costa and João Palhinha retaining their places in the starting lineup.
None that came into the side did their chances of playing a major role at this tournament any favours however, with a tame outing seeing Portugal fail to muster any real notable goalscoring opportunities, while defensively they looked vulnerable.
Though it was a poor team display, it was a particularly harrowing night for young centreback Antonio Silva, whose loose pass in the opening 2 minutes gifted Georgia possession, before Kvaratshkelia slotted past Diogo Costa to give the underdogs a shock lead.
His night went from bad to worse early in the second half, his clumsy challenge in the box giving Georgia a penalty, which was duly dispatched by Mikautadze.
Portugal never recovered from the second setback, and Georgia, against all expectations, secured their place in the last 16 of Euro 2024, an almighty achievement for a side that only progressed to the tournament as playoff winners from League C of the Nations League.
