June 19, (THEWILL)- After an impressive first match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, wherein they contained the megastar and his comrades for much of the match until an unfortunate six minutes at the very end, when they conceded and lost by three goals, the Hungarians have bettered their lot against another team of title favourites, France.
This time around, they found the net and got off the mark in the UEFA EURO 2020 Group of Death, Group F. Their overall performance was admirable even though they failed to hold on to their lead and allowed a leveller from France in the 66th minute at home in the Budapest Puskas Arena.
Hungary got off to a first half lead as they played with firm discipline. Even if the initial chances were on the side of the French, Hungarian keeper Péter Gulácsi was again called to action frequently. He denied Karim Benzema a pop from outside the area and shortly after stood resolute to force Kylian Mbappé heading his chance wide.
Unfortunately for Hungary, they lost their captain Ádám Szalai to injury midway into the first period as the pressure from the French ratcheted up. Mbappe, Benzema and Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann demonstrated flashes of France’s attacking threat every time the team advanced toward the Hungarian danger area but a goal did not materialise until the extra time of first period.
Although France looked the most likely to get the opener, it was Hungary’s left-midfielder, Attila Fiola, who played a running one-two with Roland Sallai, slammed past right-back Benjamin Pavard and centre-back Raphaël Varane before hitting the shot beyond Hugo Lloris, in the French goal.
From the go of the second half, France was out for a response. Their persistence paid off as moments after substitute Ousmane Dembélé smashed an effort against the post, a long Lloris clearance was picked up by Mbappé. The ball from the Paris Saint-Germain forward took a deflection off Hungary centre-back Willi Orbán and fell kindly for Griezmann to poke home.
The victory and three points could have been secured for the French as their comeback was almost complete but for the sharp reaction of Hungary’s goalkeeper. Mbappé went for goal in the closing minutes from a Griezmann through ball but Gulácsi denied him again and a last-minute header from Varane went wide just before the final whistle.
Griezmann’s goal was all the French needed to share the points but move on to four points ahead of their group finale against Portugal, where they may well require a point to progress to the round of 16 but Hungary now face the tall order of having to beat Germany in Munich on Wednesday to have a chance of remaining in the competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
