Kvaratskhelia fulfilled a double dream before facing Spain

The amulet of Georgia, Khvicha Kvaratskheliaput in a masterful performance to advance his country to the round of 16 of Euro 2024 with a historic 2-0 victory over Portugal, inspired by a brief pre-match chat and greeting from his childhood hero, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Kvaratskhelia scored Georgia’s first goal after two minutes to stun the former Euro champions and then produced a sensational display, before being taken to a standing ovation with a quarter of an hour remaining.

The 23-year-old striker, on whose shoulders rest the hopes of many Georgia fans, spoke before the game of his dreams of playing against Ronaldo and winning the shirt of his idol. A 2013 photo of Ronaldo visiting a football academy in Tbilisi circulated on social media, showing the Portuguese great surrounded by excited young footballers, including Kvaratskhelia.

But the Napoli winger showed on Wednesday that he is now on equal terms with one of his footballing idols and revealed that he has a special memory of the match.

“I have a Ronaldo shirt,” he told reporters. “And we also go to the next round. This is the best day in the lives of Georgians. Very happy everyone, we just made history. Nobody would believe that we would do it and beat Portugal. But I think that’s why we are a strong team.”

Ronaldo also offered words of encouragement before the match, Kvaratskhelia said, although the Portuguese player may now regret doing so. “When he comes up to you before the game and says he wishes you success, it’s amazing,” Kvaratskhelia said. “I realized that we can do a lot now because it gave us a lot of incentive.”

Kvaratskhelia, nicknamed ‘Kvaradona’ by fans of his club Napoli, with whom he won the Italian title in 2023, put Georgia’s success above that. “This is the best day of my life because it is more difficult to do it with the Georgia team than with Napoli,” he said.