In the third round of Group F in the European Championship, Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze each scored a goal, and Georgia finally beat Portugal 2-0, advancing as the best third-placed team in the group. After the game, Georgia coach Willy Sagnol attended the press conference.
Sagnol said: “To be honest, I don’t remember what I told the players before the game, but I told them to play their own football; you have to follow the established tactical deployment to run and support or defend when you are off the ball, and play well when you have the ball at your feet. I told them to remember how they played when they were 16 or 17 years old, without any worries, they did very well today, exceeding everyone’s expectations.”
“I can’t express it in too many words, but I am proud of the players, because they have shown the image of Georgia very well in these three games. I am proud to be their coach.”
“When you are a ‘small’ team, you know you have nothing to lose. The only thing we said before the game was ‘don’t leave any regrets’, don’t regret not playing your football or enjoying the game. You don’t have any burden on your shoulders, our only responsibility is to make the Georgian people proud of their players, and I think we have done that in the best way possible.”
“When you look at our bench, it’s not the most exciting in terms of player ability, but it is in terms of player spirit. I think reaching the knockout stages was our limit, but the outcome of the football game is never predetermined.”
“Knockout stages? Reaching the knockout stages has been a great dream, before we thought it was impossible, at that time we wouldn’t try to imagine who we would face if we advanced. Now, we know our knockout opponent is Spain, they may be the best performing team in the group stage, so this is another big challenge for us. If the challenge is too big, I’m not sure if we can handle it, but we will definitely go all out from the first minute of the game, just like we have been doing in this group stage.”
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