A missed penalty cost Portugal their first World Cup win in a thrilling draw with Georgia

Portugal defender Nuno Sousa Guedes failed to convert the final penalty. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images Match review: Georgia v Portugal

Portugal came desperately close to a first-ever Rugby World Cup victory only thanks to Nuno Sousa Guedes' 78th-minute penalty, which Georgia managed to achieve a thrilling draw in Toulouse.

The two teams, who also drew the Test in 2022, put on a spectacular display in another Group C match that produced plenty of drama.

Raffaele Storti, The 22-year-old striker was a star player for Portugal. scoring two tries at quick pace to overturn a 13-0 deficit.

Georgia had the brighter start, with excellent defender David Niniashvili at the center of their best performance, while Aki Tabutsadze's try and points from Tedo Adzhandadze's boot gave Georgia a healthy lead. But Portugal then rallied, with flanker Nicolas Martins and veteran scrum-half Samuel Marques scoring as Storti's tries gave Portugal hope.

Jeronimo Portela's offload then allowed Storti to free himself for his second try, giving Portugal the lead in the first. time when Marquez converted.

Georgia, having lost their composure, found a way to level the score after Tengiz Zamtaradze finished off a maul. But a poor conversion from Luca Matvaka made it 18-18 before Portugal struck from the restart, winning a knock-down penalty only thanks to Guedes' key try going wide.

“We were lucky at half-time that they led by eight points and we're still there,” said Portugal head coach Patrice Lagisque. “We can’t have such a bad half, let’s play your rugby. Be yourself. In the first half, the result was good for us.”

“This is rugby, not half,” added Georgian national team coach Levan Maisashvili. “We played very strongly in the first half, but in the second half Portugal dominated everywhere.

“We know their team, but we didn't capitalize on our chances when we had the chance. Today we lost a lot of goals and lost on the break.”

Match details

Georgia: Niniashvili; Tabutsadze, Kveseladze, Sharikadze (captain), Todua; Abzhandadze, Aprasidze; Nariashvili, Mamukashvili, Gigashvili; Chachanidze, Mikautadze; Jalagonia, Saginadze, Gorgadze
Replacements: Zamtaradze, Gogichashvili, Papidze, Cheishvili, Tsutskiridze, Lobzhanidze, Matkava, Tapadze
Portugal: Gedesh; Storti, Betancourt, Appleton (captain), Martha; Portela, Marquez; Fernandes, Tajer, Ferreira; Madeira, Cerqueira; Granate, Martins, Simoes
Substitutes:Costa, Camperg, Alves, Belo, Wallis, de Freitas, Lucas, Pinto
Referee: Paul Williams ( New Zealand)