Cristiano Ronaldo's shirt and last 16 a dream come true for Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Georgia's talisman Khvicha Kvaratskhelia turned in a man-of-the-match performance to propel his country into the last 16 of Euro 2024 with a historic 2-0 win over Portugal, inspired by a pre-match pep talk from his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.

Kvaratskhelia scored Georgia's opener inside two minutes to stun the former Euro champions and then produced a sensational display of all-action dribbling, before he was withdrawn to a standing ovation with a quarter of an hour to play.

The 23-year-old forward, on whose shoulders the hopes of many Georgian fans rest, spoke before the match about his dreams of playing against Ronaldo and getting his idol's shirt.

Before Georgia's must-win game, a photo from 2013 of Ronaldo visiting a football academy in Tbilisi circulated on social media showing the Portuguese great surrounded by excited young footballers – among them Kvaratskhelia.

In 2013, Ronaldo opened a football academy in Georgia, and one of the children there was Kvaratskhelia.