Kvaratskhelia's Georgia upsets Ronaldo's Portugal 2-0 to reach the last 16 at Euro 2024

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — A pre-game chat with Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georgia to one of the biggest upsets in European Championship history on Wednesday, beating Portugal 2-0 and advancing to the last 16.

Georgia's No. 7 has admired Ronaldo for years and had spoken before the game of how much he wanted his hero's shirt. He got it, along with a goal and a slice of soccer history, on a frustrating night for Ronaldo and Portugal.

“Before the match there was a meeting and he wished me success and it was so much for me because I would never imagine that he would come to me and say something to me,” Kvaratskhelia said in translated comments. “I realized that I could do and we could do so many things today because it gave me inspiration.”

For Napoli forward Kvaratskhelia, the win even surpasses his club's historic Italian title last year.

“This is the best day in my life because it was more difficult to do it with the Georgian team than with Napoli,” he said.

A banner at the Georgian fans' end of the stadium said “Believe,” and they did.

The Georgians needed a win to reach the knockout stage at Euro 2024 and got their opening goal after only 93 seconds. Georges Mikautadze intercepted a poor pass and set up Kvaratskelia to score with a low shot.

António Silva gave away the ball before the first goal and gave away a penalty for the second, tripping Luka Lochoshvili inside the penalty area. Mikautadze hit the spot kick low and past Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 57th minute.

Georgia advanced in its debut at a major tournament as one of the best third-place teams. Portugal had already qualified from Group F after winning its first two games.

The Georgians will next face Spain on Sunday in Cologne, while Portugal plays Slovenia on Monday in Frankfurt. Slovenia is another defense-first team and it upset Portugal 2-0 in a March friendly.

Ronaldo is still without a goal at Euro 2024. He felt he deserved a penalty in the first half and kicked away a water bottle when he was substituted in the 66th minute.

Ronaldo was given a yellow card for his protests after his penalty appeal was turned down. He wanted the decision after his shirt was pulled in the area by Lochoshvili as a cross came in. No foul was given.

With Portugal already qualified, Ronaldo was one of only three players kept in the lineup from the previous 3-0 win over Turkey, along with Costa and midfielder João Palhinha.

Portugal created little in the second half as Georgia’s defense sat deep, but the 2016 champions had chances in added time. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili kept Georgia’s two-goal lead intact with saves from Nélson Semedo and Diogo Dalot, while Francisco Conceição narrowly missed the target.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez criticized “very inconsistent” video reviews but denied his team had underestimated Georgia.

“This was a game where Georgia was playing to be part of history and we didn’t match their intensity," he said.

At the final whistle, Georgia's players sprinted off the bench to embrace Mamardashvili in a huddle and leapt with joy in front of their raucous fans.

Turkey beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the other group match. The Turks also advanced while the Czechs were eliminated.

Georgia's victory also eliminated Hungary, which finished third in Group A.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scores his side's first goal during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Georgia's goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili celebrates at the end of a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Georgia's goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saves a shot by Portugal's Nelson Semedo during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Georgia's goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is hugged by a team mate as he celebrates at the end of a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo argues with referee Sandro Schärer after receiving a yellow card during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Georgia's Georges Mikautadze celebrates after scoring on a penalty kick during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran will hold a runoff presidential election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, an official said Saturday, after an initial vote saw the top candidates not securing an outright win.

The election this coming Friday will pit reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Mohsen Eslami, an election spokesman, announced the result in a news conference carried by Iranian state television. He said of 24.5 million votes cast, Pezeshkian got 10.4 million while Jalili received 9.4 million. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf got 3.3 million. Shiite cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi had over 206,000 votes.

Iranian law requires that a winner gets more than 50% of all votes cast. If not, the race’s top two candidates will advance to a runoff a week later. There’s been only one runoff presidential election in Iran’s history: in 2005, when hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bested former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Eslami acknowledged the country's Guardian Council would need to offer formal approval, but the result did not draw any immediate challenge from contenders in the race.

As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognized monitors.

There had been calls for a boycott, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the leaders of the 2009 Green Movement protests who remains under house arrest, has also refused to vote along with his wife, his daughter said.

There’s also been criticism that Pezeshkian represents just another government-approved candidate. In a documentary on the reformist candidate aired by state TV, one woman said her generation was “moving toward the same level” of animosity with the government that Pezeshkian’s generation had in the 1979 revolution.

Raisi, 63, died in the May 19 helicopter crash that also killed the country’s foreign minister and others. He was seen as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor. Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

The voting came as wider tensions have gripped the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups that Tehran arms in the region — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues to enrich uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build — should it choose to do so — several nuclear weapons.

Despite the recent unrest, there was only one reported attack around the election. Gunmen opened fire on a van transporting ballot boxes in the restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing two police officers and wounding others, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The province regularly sees violence between security forces and the militant group Jaish al-Adl, as well as drug traffickers.

Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, reformist candidate for the Iranian presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian casts his ballot as he waves to media in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Majid Khahi, ISNA via AP)

A man casts his ballot during the presidential election as he holds a picture of the late President Ebrahim Raisi in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman fills out her ballot during the Iranian presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to media after casting his vote during the presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at a polling station inside the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to vote for the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians voted Friday in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, with the race's sole reformist candidate vowing to seek "friendly relations" with the West in an effort to boost his campaign. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at the Iranian consulate in Basra southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jourani)

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, hard-line former Iranian senior nuclear negotiator and candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili casts his ballot in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Alireza Sotakabr, ISNA via AP)