Georgia, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the most incredible story of the EUROs

Everybody ruled them out. Everybody. You did, I did, your favourite pundit did. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was one person – or, rather, one group of people – who didn’t: Georgians.

That’s me paraphrasing the words of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who you may be more familiar with as Kvaradona. That’s the name Napoli fans gave him, and if they’re comparing him to Diego Maradona, it’s probably best that you and I follow suit.

But, of course, Georgia isn’t just Kvaradona. 19 players pulled on the shirt in the group stages of EURO2024, and each and every one of them has contributed to something so enormous in size that it’s really quite hard to quantify.

You see, Georgia had never qualified for a major tournament until this one. They didn’t even qualify through the normal means; they finished fourth in their qualifying group, below Scotland and even Norway. They only made it to matchday one through the contentious Nations League pathway. On this evidence, though, it looks like that pathway has to stay open.

Once the plane landed in Germany – the little town of Velbert to be precise – they stepped off with all the odds stacked against them. They were the lowest ranked side in the competition before a ball was kicked. Their players play in Azerbaijan, Poland, Iran and Cyprus, just to name a few. Their star midfielder spent last season in Spain’s Segunda División; their most potent goal threat was just relegated from Ligue 1. They were nobodies.

But they were everything to Georgia. They may be a ragtag crew of misfits and journeymen, but scratch the surface just a little and you’re looking at the best squad they’ve ever had. Now, three games into the EUROs, they’re certainly not nobodies anymore.

That midfielder and that striker mentioned earlier? Well, they’re Giorgi Kochorashvili and Georges Mikautadze. One has been one of the standout midfielders of the whole tournament, the other is the top scorer.

Just take a step back and think about how remarkable that is. The top scorer at EURO2024 isn’t Robert Lewandowski. It’s not Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s not Harry Kane, it’s not Romelu Lukaku either. Those guys have two goals between them.

Instead, it’s a man playing for Georgia. Georges Mikautadze is the first player in the history of the European Championships to score in all three group stage games, and he’s done it for the 74^th best country in the world.

That’s just the tip of this incredible iceberg. One player who hasn’t yet been mentioned is goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. If you’ve been paying attention to La Liga at all, you’ll know this guy is worth his salts; he was the league’s best keeper last season after preventing just under 10 expected goals. At EURO2024, he’s made his stamp on the entire continent. Mamardashvili made 21 saves in the group stage. Twenty-one. He’s already prevented nearly four expected goals in just three matches. He’s the second highest rated player at the entire tournament. Again, and this cannot be stressed enough, he’s done that playing for Georgia.

They were supposed to be the whipping boys. They were supposed to make up the numbers. They were supposed to lend a helping hand to Portugal, Türkiye and Czechia in their fight for the knockout stages. But they had other ideas.

Their manager Willy Sagnol isn’t Georgian. He’s French, and played for France in the 2006 World Cup final. Now, though, he’s enshrined a permanent place for himself in Georgian folklore.

Just as Kvaratskhelia wasn’t surprised by all of this, neither was Sagnol. Before the group stage kicked off, he said this: “Georgia had never qualified for a tournament before, and yet the day after beating Greece, people were already talking about making the round of 16.”

“That’s kind of the mindset over here: it’s all or nothing.”

Georgia, unequivocally, chose all.

The intensity, the passion and the defensive stubbornness and discipline that they have brought to the tournament has been unmatched by any other nation. Facing off against the side ranked sixth in the world would be daunting for anyone. It would be daunting for England, Germany, or even Spain. But it wasn’t for Georgia, because last night, the 74^th ranked country in the world took them on and won. Now that’s ballsy.

But they didn’t just win; they deserved it. They deserved it wholeheartedly. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – I mean, Kvaradona – hadn’t really turned up for the EUROs until then, but like all the best players, he picked his big moment to perfection when he scored against Portugal in the second minute. And, if you didn’t know any better, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the rest of his performance as one of the man from whom he’s taken his new name.

Let’s not forget, this was against Cristiano Ronaldo, too, but this wasn’t their first meeting. Back in 2013, Portugal’s talisman inaugurated Dinamo Tbilisi’s new academy, and guess who was there? None other than Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, fresh faced, one on one with the idol whose videos he still occasionally watches before training.

But it wasn’t just Kvaratskhelia who was there. It was Giorgi Chakvetadze, Anzor Mekvabishvili, Giorgi Kochorashvili and six other players who took Ronaldo on eleven years later and won. If that isn’t what football is all about, then what is?

So now we’re here. Georgia have a date with destiny in the round of 16, as they and only they predicted all those months ago. Granted, it’s a date with Spain, the best side in the tournament, but if you’ve been paying even a modicum of attention to Georgia so far, you must’ve learned one thing: they can never, ever, be ruled out.