The Portuguese like the heat. Give us sun and we’ll be partying. It doesn’t rain that much. But maybe things will change in this Euro Cup. At 10:30 p.m., It was 26º, with a thermal sensation of 28º at the Auf Schalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen. A hot, authentic summer night, but with negative football, cold and without even a light winter sun for our National Team. Portugal reaches the round of 16 first in the group, but with the weight of the defeat against Georgia, the team with the worst ranking in this Euro 2024, but it is misleading, make no mistake. The weaknesses already demonstrated previously were visible again, but also a new one: the second lines are not even equal to the first.

Roberto Martínez refused to make changes to the starting eleven for the last day of the group stage, but that is exactly what he did: only three players (Diogo Costa, João Palhinha and Cristiano Ronaldo) remained in the lineup compared to those chosen for the clash with Turkey. Everyone else jumped off the bench and the differences were felt, especially in communication and comfort with and without the ball. And that was seen from the first minute. In fact, from the second. António Silva, in a performance to forget, played in the centre, without looking, and did not see that there were only players dressed in red, which we do not use today. Mikautadze stretched before the run of Kvaratskhelia, who fired towards the national goal. Great explosion at the Veltins Arena, for a Georgia team that needed to win to advance. Ronaldo applauded the Benfica defender, who could not resist apologizing to his teammates.

????????? Georgia???? Portugal????????

Antonio Silva ????????? starred in a “black night” in Germany, being directly associated with the two goals, ending with a rating that enters the top-6 of the lowest in the tournament so far⭐️
???? All ratings at https://t.co/QZuwKyuNke… pic.twitter.com/L65rimSFtn

— GoalPoint (@_Goalpoint) June 26, 2024

Portugal was beginning to lose and, as our saying goes, what is born crooked is never straightened. Portugal even had the ball and the offensive flow. In the 20th minute there was 75% possession and 23 attacks, compared to 25% and 2 attacks for the Georgians alone. —, but always inconsequential and, mainly, at a Sunday pace. Diogo Costa noticed it, in the depths of his impotence: it was not unusual for him to shout at Danilo or João Neves, often the first to build, for their lack of speed when taking the ball. And halfway through the first half it was just that: lots of grapes, few grapes, a mid-distance shot by Palhinha, a foul by Ronaldo and little else. And a lot, a lot of heat. In the 25th minute, the Portuguese players even had to go to the bench to drink water, but even that did not help. Only the good exits of Pedro Neto and Chico remained, and the performance of Palhinha. Félix also appeared from time to time, but was overshadowed in the second half.

The team did not feel comfortable in the game (it never was) and that was noticeable from miles away. Many failed passes, lack of ideas in the inside game – once again – and a lot of anxiety. In duels, in fouls, in the last pass. And in the protests. At 27′, Cristiano Ronaldo fell in the area, grabbed by a Georgian defender and it was that gesture that he decided to show to the referee. To the referee, to the assistant referee, to the fourth official and the only thing that the VAR missed was because he was far away. The captain was always very anxious throughout the match and it was clear that the fact that the ketchup bottle was still closed didn’t help. He received a yellow card for protesting and even 20 minutes later, when the referee blew the end of the first half, he was still hot: he yelled at the assistant and the fourth official again. Even Martínez had to shout and ask for calm. Too much desire for so little team football, that he went to half-time with more ball, but with no intention of scoring.

For the first time in 11 finals (World/Europe), Cristiano Ronaldo finishes a group stage without scoring a goal #EURO2024 | #GEOPOR pic.twitter.com/nYjubyjqpW

— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) June 26, 2024

The second half did not go better. Palhinha left, with the risk of receiving a yellow card with such intensity in the first half and missing the round of 16, and Rúben Neves entered. I do not help. Portugal then lost the destructive capacity that the number 6 provided and that prevented greater evils. The Seleção not only maintained the blockade of ideas, but also allowed the Georgian team to undertake greater adventures, especially in the counterattack. Kvaratskhelia only did not close the game at 50′ because the shot was weak. Three minutes later, Martínez’s team did not have the same luck: António Silva – again – lightly touched Luka Lochoshvili’s leg. The decision seemed forced, but the VAR gave a penalty and the Benfica defender was once again the image of the stadium’s giant screens. From eleven meters, Mikautadze scored and flew to the top of the table of top scorers at Euro 2024. He flew more than Diogo Costa, who stretched well, but did not reach the Metz player’s excellent penalty.

From there Georgia played with what it had and Portugal looked for what it didn’t have. When a feature appeared, usually from Chico Conceição, Pedro Neto or Diogo Dalot, he would raise his arm to say a gift. Pay attention to this man. Giorgi Mamardashvili saved everything that had to be defended and in the 54th minute he made, perhaps, the best save of this Euro Cup, a shot from the Manchester United full-back. Martínez moved and took out Cristiano Ronaldo and António Silva. They were, perhaps, the two least inspired players on the field.. The captain was always placed in the middle of Georgia’s three centre-backs and the contribution of Francisco and Félix was also missing to create spaces, always very close to the wing. As he left, Ronaldo did not protest, but instead kicked a bottle. Let’s hope that the next one is the one with ketchup, because it is very important for Cristiano to overcome the anxiety that even the team is having about not scoring.

Photo gallery. Cristiano Ronaldo receives yellow for protests against Georgia and he did not like it

Here Georgia backed down, Portugal had more mobility in attack and appeared more often near Mamardashvili’s area. And now you have an idea. Bad idea: Cruzbol emerged from clownish football that seeks an opening without opening anything. The Seleção made 38 crosses during the match, 23 of them in the second half and only 8 (21%) found someone wearing a tile print. In the end, Georgia had the best chances. He shot on goal three times and Portugal five. She knew how to be pragmatic, she dried her wings, knowing that there would be no Portuguese paths in between, and she bet on Kvaratskhelia’s genius and counterattack ability. It was happy and fair. On a night with so much heat and so many requests for water, Georgia gave us a bucket of cold water. And, who knows, a shower of humility for the battles that lie ahead.

The Pearl

• Kvicha Kvaratskelia. Let’s all learn to write this child’s name, because he deserves it. Genius. In short, in dribbling, in solidarity, in finishing. Kvaradona has several moments in which, even cornered by two or three Portuguese players, he begins to play as if nothing had happened. It was a Kvicha that Portugal was asking for today and, once again, Félix did not know how to be it. Palhinha, who was the best in a midfield where João Neves was not so compatible, and Pedro Neto also stand out. He went up and down without getting tired and always changing games.

the Joker

• Mamardashvili. Anyone who knows him knows that he has been one of the few good things in recent years for Valencia. Dalot’s shot defense was perhaps the best of this Euro 2024 and he always had blood in his eyes when he entered duels in the box. A barrier that will be difficult to overcome.

The phrase

• There is no time for experiments anymore. Roberto Martínez taught us that on a winning team you don’t move. He never wanted to take risks in the calls. He always wanted to have a solid foundation that would stand. Today that basis was not present – and legitimately, pay attention – and we saw that it is not the same. He promised that there would be no revolution, but that is what happened in the eleven. And what the second lines demonstrated did not provide security. From now on, it is once again the management of the club, because the base is really “that base.”

The lie

• Perhaps the shouts from the rooftops about Ronaldo’s altruistic deeds have been manifestly exaggerated. There is no way to cheat: The captain is anxious that he hasn’t scored yet. He is very expectant, very stuck in his position and with low blocks he cannot escape the line. Today, with everything that didn’t go well, Ronaldo protested and protested and protested. He saw an unnecessary yellow card and gave points to those who think he doesn’t care much about the game. It is channeling anxiety and anger towards the right foot that he will continue to use in this Euro Cup. We wait.