Portugal stand in way of fearless Georgia’s pursuit of the unthinkable

“But, I mean, it’s Portugal,” came the typically frank and measured reply from the Georgia manager, Willy Sagnol. Minutes earlier, such was the giddiness surrounding the nation’s first point at a major tournament on Saturday, he had been given a standing ovation as he entered the press conference room in Hamburg from journalists who follow the team. The same went for Giorgi Mamardashvili, after his staggering goalkeeping display.

Conversation, however, soon flipped to the game in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday night and it was a case of carefully dousing the flames of unfiltered excitement. The obvious thing to say at this juncture is Georgia won’t stop dreaming.

Why would they? The country is bursting with pride. Sagnol has painted the reality of the task, the probability of them reaching the last 16 something close to mission impossible. Whatever the percentage of Georgia’s hopes of defying expectations, they will not relent.

“Many people didn’t believe we could qualify for the European Championship but we are here and we have to think we can defeat Portugal and qualify for the next round,” says Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, their star attacker.

“Even if we have a 1% chance, we will use it. We will try to add another page to our history. We will invest everything we have.”

If Georgia enjoyed a fraught draw against the Czech Republic, then there will be carnage if they do the unthinkable. Georgia will go through if they beat Portugal.

At 74th in the Fifa rankings, Georgia are the lowest‑ranked team at the tournament but, despite playing just 180-odd minutes of predominantly low-rent football in Germany, nobody has enriched the finals more. They have won plenty of friends under Sagnol, who exudes class. There is the brawn of an experienced defence and an endearing Wacky Races feel to their unpredictability and fearlessness in attack.

Can they get over the line? “People always want more and it is non-stop because we’re here now,” Sagnol says. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep dreaming even stronger. Portugal is Portugal, it’s a fantastic team with a lot of top, top players. We know it is going to be difficult but if there is a little chance to qualify you can be assured my players will do everything. We are very glad to be part of it and we have shown everyone that Georgia deserve to be here.”

One of Sagnol’s first tasks upon leaving Hamburg was to lift Saba Lobjandize, whose stoppage-time miss prevented Georgia from a historic victory. “When you know where you’re coming from, you can’t be disappointed,” was Sagnol’s take at the time. He also acknowledged the Czechs were more cohesive, the superior team on the day. The reality is if Portugal, who are among the favourites and expected to make changes in preparation for the knockout stages, perform they will send Georgia packing. And yet Georgia are in a position no one envisaged.

“It is quite a big win just being here,” Sagnol says. “But before the competition if you would have told me that we could have qualified [for the last 16] in the last group match I would have signed the document immediately.”

Kvaratskhelia is capable of the beautiful. Ten minutes into the Czech game he steamed into the opposition half before flicking the ball over Tomas Holes on halfway, a nonchalant piece of skill that also took Vladimir Coufal out of the game. Kvaratskhelia lit up Serie A in his first season with Napoli and, while he registered similar numbers last season, at times he has appeared like a player struggling to live up to his own recast standards. “I haven’t done the maximum I can do but I will try to do that against Portugal to get victory,” the 23-year-old says.

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Sagnol is reluctant to create a David v Goliath narrative – “I don’t want to play the big one against the small one” – but there is no masking the magnitude of the occasion. There is a photo of the Watford midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze staring at Cristiano Ronaldo at the opening of the Dinamo Tblisi academy in 2013 and he could now face the Portuguese, who has played every minute so far. Kvaratskhelia plans to swap shirts with the Al-Nassr forward at the final whistle. The defender Solomon Kvirkvelia has already duelled with him in the Saudi Pro League.

Georgia’s supporters will enjoy the occasion win, lose or draw. “I think what helps us a lot is that we know we have absolutely nothing to lose,” says Sagnol, a World Cup runner-up with France in 2006.

“We came here knowing that our main, main goal was to get experience. When you are Georgia – and as much as I love Georgia – you can’t pretend you can win the European Championship. Maybe we won’t become champions but we deserve to be a part of it.”