FLORIAN KAMBERI missed one chance against Braga. But he hopes he has made the most of his opportunity for Rangers.
The striker was handed his first start by boss Steven Gerrard as he lead the Light Blues' line in the Estadio Municipal in place of the suspended Alfredo Morelos.
Kamberi couldn't mark the occasion with a goal but he still more than played his part as the Gers recorded a deserved 1-0 win to book their place in the last 16.
The Swiss-born forward had one clear sight of goal when he was set up by Scott Arfield early on but keeper Matheus was a match for his effort.
Kamberi would revel in the celebrations as Ryan Kent netted the only goal of the game on a remarkable night in Portugal to send Rangers through to the next round.
And the on-loan Hibernian forward was delighted to take to the European stage for Gerrard's side.
Kamberi said: “It was a special night and to qualify was unbelievable for me and the team. I had a chance early on and if I had executed it perfectly then it would have been a goal.
"But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter who scores, we are through and that’s the most important thing.
“It’s a dream of every ambitious footballer to play in European football and Rangers offers that so it was a perfect opportunity and I’ve been delighted since day one and things are going well so I hope it continues.
“Braga didn’t have so many decent chances but we did so we fully deserved to go through. We showed the kind of quality we have and just have to show that kind of quality in the league and I have no doubt we will be successful there."
Boss Gerrard has spoken enthusiastically about Kamberi in recent days after he came off the bench to produce a superb showing in the draw with St Johnstone.
But he won't get the chance to build on his Braga outing when Rangers face Hearts in the Scottish Cup this weekend.
After turning out for the likes of Grasshopper and Karlsruher earlier in his career, Wednesday night was a dream come true.
Kamberi said: “It’s important for any player to get a run of games but I’m cup-tied on Saturday so I can’t change that and I’ll just recover, train and prepare for Hamilton at home.
“My aim was to give the manager something to think about and show him I deserve to be on the pitch and I aim to do that in every training session and during game time.
“At the end of the day, he makes the decision and I will respect that because at the end of the day what is important is what is best for the team and I try to contribute as much as I can.
“The win over Braga was a big achievement for the Scottish league because we’re one of the best 16 teams in the Europa League and it’s a big value.
“I didn’t have a particular team I supported when I was growing up but I really admired Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I admired his mentality and the way he worked and everything and tried to look to him and his work ethic.
“He was playing for Manchester United when I first admired him and then Real Madrid and now Juventus."
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