Everyone loves when David slays Goliath, and that's exactly what happened when Georgia stunned Portugal 2-0 for the biggest upset yet in Euro 2024 — the biggest upset perhaps in the tournament's history. Not only that, but the win pushed Georgia into the knockout round.
The Georgians needed an improbable win in order to qualify.
Sure, Portugal had nothing to play for as they already clinched Group F. However, it’s shocking nonetheless to see the sixth ranked team in FIFA’s world rankings fall to the 74th.
Oddsmakers took all that into account heading into the match and listed Georgia as +850 to win. The win made them the biggest longshot to come out on top so far in this year’s tournament.
Georgia struck early, taking the lead in the second minute. Georges Mikautadze threaded a pass to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — who has slowly solidified himself as one of the best wingers in the world — who made a run from the left flank into the box. He drilled a shot passed Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa into the bottom right corner of the net, setting the stage for the massive upset.
Mikautadze extended Georgia’s lead in the 57th minute. Georgia was awarded a penalty after VAR determined Portugal’s António Silva fouled Luka Lochosvhii as he made a move toward the net. Mikautadze buried a shot into the bottom right corner, putting Georgia in firm control. It was Mikautadze’s third goal of the tournament, which leads Euro ‘24.
Georgia entered the match controlling their own destiny even though they had been winless, falling 3-1 to Turkey in their opening match before drawing Czechia in their second. Nonetheless, they aced their toughest test in the biggest game in the country’s history, and now move on to the next round.
Portugal (+550) has the fourth-best odds to win the tournament at FanDuel, trailing England (+350), Spain (+390) and Germany (+440). Meanwhile, Georgia has the second-worst odds at +22000, ahead of only Slovenia (+27000).
Georgia faces another stiff test in the knockout round against Spain, which ranks eighth in the FIFA world rankings. Still, based on their stunning and convincing win over Portugal, Spain clearly can't afford to take Georgia lightly.
