Georgia hero Khvicha Kvaratskhelia waited a moment before joining his team-mates in their wild post-match celebrations after beating Portugal at Euro 2024.
Wednesday’s 2-0 victory delivered Georgia – a country with a population of less than 4 million people – the best night in its footballing history.
Georgia’s reward for the win was a place in the round of 16 in their first major tournament appearance as an independent nation.
But Kvaratskhelia – who scored the game’s opening goal inside the first two minutes – had another prize in his sights at full-time.
Kvaratskhelia – who has played his club football for Napoli since July 2022 – was desperate to swap shirts with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (No 7) were both in action on Wednesday
Kvaratskhelia scored his team’s first goal as Georgia beat Portugal 2-0 in Euro 2024 Group F
Both players ended the match on the bench, having been substituted off during the second half.
Ronaldo appeared to be pretty grumpy when he left the field in the 66th minute but he agreed to give Kvaratskhelia his jersey nevertheless, much to the 23-year-old’s delight.
Kvaratskhelia later uploaded a photo to his Instagram story showing Ronaldo’s shirt next to his trophy for being the Player of the Match.
He captioned the image with the word: ‘Dreams’, followed by a heart emoji.
Kvaratskhelia has idolised Ronaldo for many years and was delighted to get the chance to speak to the 39-year-old before kick-off on Wednesday.
Kvaratskhelia, 23, walked away with Ronaldo’s shirt and the Player of the Match trophy
Ronaldo, 39, had a frustrating night on the pitch and was substituted off in the 66th minute
‘Before the match he wished me success,’ revealed Kvaratskhelia hours later. ‘I would never imagine he would come and talk to me.
‘He’s a great player and a great person. That’s why he’s a great personality in and out of football.
‘I have so much respect for him, he’s one of the best players in the world. When he comes to talk to you before the match, that’s amazing. That helped us believe we could do something today.’
The two players had never previously shared a pitch in a competitive game.
However, they first met way back in 2013 when Ronaldo visited Georgia to help open the Dinamo Tbilisi academy.
Real Madrid legend Ronaldo and a young Kvaratskhelia (circled) first met back in 2013 in Tbilisi
Despite losing on Wednesday, Portugal finished top of Group F with six points and will now face Slovenia in the round of 16.
Georgia also progressed – after finishing third with four points – and they will take on Spain for a place in the quarter-finals.
