Hungary's Euro Schedule
| Date | Fixture | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15th June 5pm | Hungary v Portugal | Budapest |
| 19th June 2pm | Hungary v France | Budapest |
| 23rd June 8pm | Germany v Hungary | Munich |
Road to the Euros
No team took a more dramatic route to the European Championships than Hungary. They were placed in a very tricky looking group alongside Croatia, Wales, Slovakia and Azerbaijan. After three wins in their first four games, including maximum points against Croatia and Wales, Hungary looked well on their way. That was as good as it got, however, as they lost three of their next four including a final day decider. Win and they were in, but a double from Aaron Ramsey sent Wales through with 14 points and left Hungary in fourth place on 12 points. So why are they here? Well, after Russia were unexpectedly battered by Serbia in their final day of their Nations League campaign, it opened the door to Hungary who won 2-0 against Turkey. They topped their Nations League group and earned themselves a second chance in the playoffs. After a routine win against Bulgaria they would meet Iceland in the final. They fell behind early on and struggled to even get back in the game. With four minutes to go, Iceland missed an open goal. Hungary would then go on to score twice in the dying moments to reach the tournament. Cue scenes in the Puskas Arena!!
Current form
Since their dramatic late win against Iceland, the Hungarians have found themselves in some good form. They’re unbeaten in 11 overall and that includes a 2-0 win over Turkey, a 1-0 win in Serbia, a 1-1 draw at home with Serbia and a 3-3 draw with Poland. Not much can be said about their most recent outings which brought wins over San Marino, Andorra and Cyprus, followed by a 0-0 draw against Ireland, but it has allowed the Hungarian’s to implement their game plan and they've looked solid.
Squad assessment
The Hungarian squad as a whole lacks quality and it’ll take a team effort to pick up points in this group. That effort might have to extend to the fans acting as a 12th man, something the players can surely feed off. Dominik Szoboszlai’s absence is a disappointment for Hungarian fans and neutrals alike as there’s a lot of expectations of where the wonderful young attacking midfielder's career could go, but there are some very experienced players such as Nikolic and Szalai up top, Peter Gulasci in goal and Willi Orban at the back.
Key players
Already mentioned above, Hungary will draw upon their most experienced players in each position to try and get them a result. The squad is full of young, energetic and in some cases dangerous talent, but it’ll be the old heads who lead the way. Peter Gulasci will be a very, very busy man this summer and he’ll need to show all of the brilliant form he’s shown for RB Leipzig. The big Bundesliga stopper is used to keeping clean sheets but with Mbappe, Ronaldo, Muller and co up against him, it won’t be easy. It’s going to be a rearguard action for most of the group stages and Leipzig teammate Willi Orban will need to stand up and be counted in the center of defence, keeping things tight and potentially allowing the prolific Nikolic to pinch something on the break.
Click below to read more about each of Hungary's Group F opponents: