Scots out for good
Scotland v Hungary – LIVE from 9pm
They've done their bit, now they can only hope in the soccer gods and wait and see - after two defeats in the group "final" against Scotland at the start, Hungary have notched up their first win at the European Championship! As the new third-placed team in Pool A, the "Nemzeti Tizenegy" could still make it to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group ...
Currently, Hungary would even be in 3rd place in a corresponding table and thus qualify - however, the decisions in the five other groups are still pending. So nothing is fixed yet, Dominik Szoboszlai and Co. may now have to tremble until the very last matches of the preliminary round groups E and F on Wednesday.
Team bosses not known as great daredevils
An air temperature of 20 degrees, 71% humidity and around 51,000 spectators trembling with excitement and anticipation in Stuttgart's MHP Arena - if it hadn't been for the complicated starting position for both teams, a spectacular international soccer match could have been expected. But because neither Steve Clarke nor Marco Rossi, the team captains of Scotland and Hungary, are known for being great hooligans, a game characterized by caution, nervousness, hard tackles and hectic pace quickly developed.
The fact that Facundo Tello, an "exchange referee" from Argentina (!), allowed the Hungarian kick-off to be taken a second time because Milos Kerkez had crossed the halfway line too early could almost be seen as the highlight of the opening phase of the game ...
Only one motto: "Keep a clean sheet at the back!"
Playing with a five-man back line against the ball, it was clear that both the Brits - Scott McKenna came into the team for the injured Kieran Tierney - and the Magyars - Endre Botka and Callum Styles were "new" - initially had only one motto: "Keep a clean sheet at the back!"
Scots reminiscent of "Furia Roja" in their heyday
Admittedly, it was surprising that Andrew Robertson and Co. hardly let the players of the 1938 and 1954 World Cup runners-up, the Hungarians, touch the ball once in the first 25 minutes or so, and dominated possession statistics to the tune of 75:25 percent, reminiscent of the "Furia Roja" in their heyday. However, the Scots did not create a single real chance - the many-legged and many-headed Hungarian defense stood, it can be anticipated, bombproof in the entire first half of the game.
Possibly building on the strength of goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and defender Willi Orbán, the "Nemzeti Tizenegy" then ventured forward more often after around half an hour. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool star and captain Szoboszlai was usually involved when Hungary posed something of a goal threat. While he failed to clear the wall with a direct free-kick from around 25 meters out in the 32nd minute, he dangerously pushed another free-kick from the edge of the penalty area half-right in front of the Scotland goal, from where Orbán could only head against the crossbar (41').
Only slowly more offensive drive from the teams
It soon became clear after the restart: The interval tea had not had much effect on either the Scots or the Hungarians. As in the first 45 minutes, the duel remained intense, but above all characterized by caution, nervousness, tough tackles and a hectic pace. However, Robertson and Co. as well as Szoboszlai and Co. dared to go forward more often than before - the knowledge of the need to win in order to advance to the round of 16 slowly seeped from the players' heads into their legs.
Shock in minute 68 - fears for Varga
Nevertheless, it was not a (great) chance or a successful trick that made the fans in both camps hold their breath in the stands for the first time: In minute 68, ex-Mattersburg striker Barnabás Varga remained motionless after Szoboszlai curled a free-kick into the Scotland penalty area, probably due to a collision with Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn. Only after minutes of treatment on the pitch was the Hungarian removed and the game could continue - more information HERE!
Hungarians drive despair into their coach's face
The Hungarians, obviously freed from their state of shock by the fact that their team-mate had regained consciousness, now took command for the rest of the increasingly hectic match. Time and again, they tore holes in the increasingly fragile Scottish defense - but with their success rate of zero percent chance conversion, they slowly drove their coach Rossi to despair.
Rossi's side were somewhat fortunate in the 78th minute, however, when "replacement referee" Facundo Tello did not award a penalty for a tackle between Orbán and substitute Stuart Armstrong as the Scots lost their attacking threat for once. The Hungarians probably wouldn't have had much to complain about if the Argentinian had decided to award a penalty (see below) ...
Chance of reaching the last 16 alive thanks to Csoboth
In the wild final phase, Schäfer (88') and then Szoboszlai (91') had the decision at their feet before Kevin Csoboth, who came on as a substitute for future Rapid player Bendegúz Bolla in the 86th minute, found Gunn for the first time: However, the joker only hit the bar from a neatly executed counter-attack (92').
After a double chance for Scotland from Hanley (98th / Gulácsi saved), the time had come in the 100th minute: Following a corner for Scotland, the Hungarians won the ball and switched gears at lightning speed - and after preparatory work from Roland Sallai, Csoboth scored from around eleven meters to make it 1-0 for his Hungarians - and probably also for his injured teammate Varga. The chance of reaching the round of 16 was thus kept alive for the time being ...
The result:
Scotland - Hungary 1:0 (0:0)
Stuttgart, MHP-Arena, 51,000 spectators, referee Facundo Tello (ARG)
Goal: 0:1 (100') Csoboth
Yellow cards: McTominay or Styles, Orban, Schäfer, Kleinheisler (off the pitch), Csoboth
Scotland: Gunn - Hendry, Hanley, McKenna - Ralston (83rd MacLean), Gilmour (83rd Christie), McGregor, Robertson (89th Morgan) - McGinn (76th Armstrong), McTominay - Adams (76th Shankland)
Hungary: Gulacsi - Botka, Orban, Dardai (74. Szalai) - Bolla (86. Csoboth), Styles (61. A. Nagy), Schäfer, Kerkez (86. Z. Nagy) - Szoboszlai, Sallai - B. Varga (74. Adam)
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.