Swiss win 3:1

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Victory for Switzerland - of course there is great jubilation ...

(Bild: AFP)

It's jinxed, Hungary just can't win a competitive match against Switzerland! As in the 15,585 days or over 42 years since October 14, 1981, the "Nemzeti Tizenegy" failed to beat the "Nati" in the second match of Euro 2024. In the end, Switzerland prevailed 3:1 in Cologne ...

A perfect start to the European Championship for the Swiss, who, like hosts Germany, are on three points after the first matchday and should now have a good chance of reaching the round of 16. The Hungarians, on the other hand, already have their backs to the wall, especially in view of the fact that they next have to face the European Championship hosts Germany, who were not exactly overstretched against Scotland on Friday.

(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

Swiss "Nati" attacking early and with a high defensive standard 
Speaking of "overstretched": The Magyars, who were set up as usual in a variable 5-3-2 by their team boss Marco Rossi, were unable to take the advantage of their thousands of fans, who had made the stands in the stadium shake with the singing of Hungary's anthem before kick-off and clearly outplayed the Swiss. Dominik Szoboszlai and Co. were unable to get into the game from the outset, while the Swiss "Nati", who attacked early and played at a high defensive level, were always in control - both in terms of play and, almost surprisingly, in terms of running and fighting.

Offside position resolved as incorrect via VAR check - 1:0
"Lord, protect the Hungarian with your hand when he fights with the enemy" is the motto of Hungary's "Himnusz" - but the pious wish to the good Lord went unheard. And so it was hardly surprising that the Swiss fans were already able to celebrate Switzerland's opening goal in the 12th minute. After a pass from Manuel Akanji, Michael Aebischer played a perfect through ball into the path of Kwadwo Duah - who kept his nerve in front of Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulácsi and shot in dryly. An offside position indicated by the linesman was cleared by the VAR check - and the goal counted.

(Bild: AFP)

Hungary passive, overly nervous and sluggish
With the lead behind them, the Swiss changed absolutely nothing about their game - team boss Murat Yakin's men continued to run the ball and their opponents. And the Hungarians? Nothing changed for them either, they remained passive, looked overly nervous and sluggish - and made mistakes. For example in the 20th minute, when a Hungarian move almost came to nothing: But after a misunderstanding between goalkeeper Gulácsi and defender Milos Kerkez, Ruben Vargas missed the 2:0 and thus the early preliminary decision for the "Nati".

Either due to a lack of consistency from Yakin's men or the emergence of Rossi's team, the duel between the upcoming opponents of European Championship hosts Germany slowly calmed down. Fans hoping for serious chances from Hungary were still bitterly disappointed, however: just two eighth chances ("half-chance" would be overstating the case!) from headers by defensive boss Willi Orbán after Szoboszlai's set-pieces (31st, 40th).

(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

Aebischer flicks the ball into the corner from outside the sixteen
It was thanks to Stefan Posch's Bologna colleague Aebischer that they went into half-time with two goals on the scoreboard: after several inconsistent and ineffectual attempts by the Hungarians to get the ball out of their own penalty area, the 27-year-old took heart and flicked the ball into the right-hand corner from outside the sixteen past a pack of passively watching Magyars (45').

Duah and Vargas fail to take advantage of shooting opportunities
Whatever Rossi may have mixed into the break tea for his "Nemzeti Tizenegy" players, it had no effect for the time being (!). Unsurprisingly, the start of the second half belonged to the Swiss, with Duah, the scorer of the 1:0, failing to beat Gulácsi after Xhaka's pass (48'), as did Vargas five minutes later (53'). However, the fact that they were unable to take advantage of their sometimes good shooting opportunities almost fell on the "Nati's" head.

Former Mattersburg (!) striker Varga heads in the 1-2
Just before the hour mark, the Hungarians slowly but surely began to look more courageously forward, thanks in part to a series of Szoboszlai set-pieces. And their courage was rewarded by Barnabas Varga: After missing opportunities in the 61st and 63rd minutes, the former Mattersburg (!) striker headed a long cross from Szoboszlai into the goal guarded by Yann Sommer - just 2:1 for Switzerland.

The Magyars' follow-up goal changed the character of the game at a stroke and the Swiss, who had dominated the game for so long, were no longer in control. The game now went back and forth wildly at times, with goalkeepers Gulácsi and Sommer having to make crucial saves on both sides, the latter from Varga (73') and the former from Zeki Amdouni (75').

(Bild: AFP)

Swiss keep their nerve in a heated final phase
Even if the precision could still be improved, the Hungarians kept their foot on the gas - probably also due to the shouts of "Ria-Ria-Hungaria" from their fans, who were now clearly outdoing the Swiss, who had the acoustic upper hand in the stadium in the meantime. Of course, the Swiss kept their nerve in the heated final phase, rallied after the turbulent minutes following the final goal and ultimately secured victory in their first match at Euro 2024 thanks to Breel Embolo's goal to make it 3:1 in minute 93 ...

The result:
Hungary - Switzerland 3:1 (1:0)
Cologne, Rheinenergiestadion, 43,000 spectators, referee Slavko Vinčić

Goals: 0:1 (12') Duah, 0:2 (45') Aebischer, 1:2 (66') Varga, 1:3 (93') Embolo

Yellow cards: Szalai, Bolla or Widmer, Freuler, Yakin (coach)

Hungary: Gulacsi - Lang (46. Bolla), Orban, Szalai (79. Dardai) - Fiola, Nagy (67. Kleinheisler), Schäfer, Kerkez (79. Adam) - Sallai, Varga, Szoboszlai
Switzerland: Sommer - Schär, Akanji, Rodriguez - Widmer (68. Stergiou), Xhaka, Freuler (86. Sierro), Aebischer - Ndoye (86. Rieder), Duah (68. Amdouni), Vargas (73. Embolo)