It’s a night Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will always remember.

The attacker not only drove Georgia to the Euro 2024 knockout rounds on Wednesday, but he also fulfilled his own childhood dream by defeating Cristiano Ronaldo.

Georgia is the lowest-ranked team at this year’s European Championship, and few expected it to advance beyond the group stage in its first major tournament appearance.

Against all odds, the Crusaders put on a remarkable display against Portugal, winning 2-0 in Group F thanks to a second-minute goal from Kvaratskhelia and a second-half penalty from Georges Mikautadze.

The full-time whistle elicited euphoric scenes on the field and in the fans, with tears of joy streaming down the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen.

Meanwhile, fireworks lit up the sky in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, as fans flocked to the streets to celebrate the historic victory.

“This is the best day in the lives of Georgians,” Kvaratskhelia said after the game, according to Reuters.

“Everybody is overjoyed; we just made history. Nobody believed we would be able to defeat Portugal. But I believe this is why we are a powerful team.”

Georgia’s assistant manager, David Webb, told CNN Sport the morning after the match that the atmosphere after the final whistle was “immense” as players and staff “let go” while celebrating with the crowd.

The coach, a key member of manager Willy Sagnol’s team, stated that the group remained “calm” ahead of the crucial match and executed the game plan flawlessly.

Webb, noted for his ability to motivate players on a more personal level, stated that he gave a presentation about self-belief prior to the tournament.

He stated that his speech was inspired by smaller nations such as Wales and Iceland, which had performed admirably at past European Championships, with Wales reaching the semifinals and Iceland reaching the quarterfinals in 2016.

“It was about giving the players a bit of belief that there is no reason we can’t do something like that as well,” Webb told ESPN.

The assistant manager stated that players and staff liked the “special” post-match festivities, but that they did not last too long.

Ronaldo’s encouragementVideos on social media revealed the team’s jubilation in the locker room, with Kvaratskhelia donning Ronaldo’s shirt.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Ronaldo had been upset throughout the game, but he had given his shirt to an emotional Kvaratskhelia after the loss.

Before the match on Wednesday, a photo from 2013 circulated on social media showed Ronaldo standing in the middle of a group of young children on a trip to Tbilisi. One of those children was Kvaratskhelia, who later shared it on his Instagram Story.

The Napoli forward also chatted with his childhood hero before the game, saying Ronaldo wished him luck.

“When he comes to you before the match and when he says that I wish you success, that is amazing,” she explained.

“I realized that actually I could do and we could do so many things today because it gave us so much incentive.”

Before celebrating with his teammates, Kvaratskhelia ran over to console Ronaldo after the final whistle; Portugal still qualified as group winners despite the defeat.

Georgia’s talisman then shared a photo of Ronaldo’s shirt with his Man of the Match award on Instagram, captioned “Dreams.”

Despite helping Napoli win the Serie A title in 2023, Kvaratskhelia stated that beating Portugal and reaching the knockout stages with his country was the pinnacle of his career to date.

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

“There was no individual best player,” he informed me. “It was teamwork and we proved to anyone that we could really play.”

If Georgia hopes to advance further in the competition, it will need to rely on Kvaratskhelia again when it faces Spain in the final 16 on Sunday.

“We’ve done really well to get to this stage and to write another page in Georgian history,” Webb told reporters.

“So we go into Spain game with no fear, lots of belief, lots of confidence, and we’ll give it our best and see where we go.”