The Hungarian national football team qualified for the European Championship as group winners.Continue reading
The Hungarian national football team has been put into the same group as the hosting country Germany, along with Scotland and Switzerland in Saturday’s draw for next year’s European Championships in Hamburg, Germany.
At the ceremony, it was also decided that the Hungarian team will start Group A against Switzerland in Cologne on June 15, then face Germany in Stuttgart on June 19, and Scotland on June 23. The Hungarians have played Germany once at the European Championships, with a memorable 2-2 draw at the 2021 continental tournament that ended in a win for Germany and a group stage exit for Hungary. Hungary has never played their other two group opponents, Scotland and Switzerland, in a continental tournament.
The European Championships in Germany will be hosted by 10 German cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Gelsenkirchen. The final match will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The European Championships will take place between June 14 and July 14.
Marco Rossi, the captain of the Hungarian national football team, said after the draw: “Of course we wanted to avoid Germany for several reasons: firstly because they are basically a very strong team, and secondly because they will be the hosts, so we know what conditions we will face in the European Championships.”
He added that
the Germans are a “different level,” but that the Hungarian national team could be competitive against the other two rivals.
“We can say that without arrogance, but it does not mean we can beat them. A lot of things will influence the outcome of these games, a lot will depend on the current condition of our players and many other little things. However, the fact is that we are at about the same level as Scotland and Switzerland at the moment.
Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ), said that the minimum target was to progress from the group. “The most important thing is that we are here and have qualified straightaway, because in the previous qualifying rounds we fought for participation in the loser’s brackets and in second rounds. So we have more time to prepare. (…) I am confident that the professionals will get the job done to get us progress from the group,” he told M4 Sport in Hamburg.
The group schedule for the 2024 European Championships is as follows:
Group A:
Germany (hosts), Scotland, HUNGARY, Switzerland
Group B:
Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
Group C:
Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England
Group D:
Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia, Netherlands, Austria, France
Group E:
Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Israel/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Ukraine/Iceland
Group F:
Turkey, Georgia/Greece/Kazakhstan/Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic
Via MTI, Fatured image: Facebook/MLSZ – Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség