The Hungarian national football team lost its decisive European Championship qualifier against Wales in Cardiff. This does not mean that all is lost since Hungary can still qualify through the Nations League play-offs.
Everyone in Hungary knew it would be a difficult match against Wales on away turf, as the opponent had more quality players than our side. Injuries made the situation even worse and left captain Marco Rossi with almost no choice.
Gareth Bale and Zsolt Nagy: one of the deciding battles of the match. Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
Therefore it was no surprise that Wales dominated the match and with an Aaron Ramsey brace, they won easily.
Wales-Hungary 2-0 (1-0)
Wales: Hennessey – C. Roberts, Lockyer, Mepham, B. Davies – Morrell (Ampadou, 50.), Allen – Bale (H. Wilson, 88.), Ramsey, D. James – K. Moore
Hungary: Gulácsi – Lovrencsics, Baráth, Lang, Zs. Nagy – Á. Nagy (I. Kovács, 60.), Pátkai – Dzsudzsák (R. Varga, 72.), Szoboszlai, Sallai (Holender, 83.) – Szalai
Goals: Ramsey (15., 47.)
With 12 points (and only 8 goals) in 8 matches, Hungary has finished fourth in the group. However, thanks to the national team’s 31st place in the UEFA ranking, they still can qualify to next year’s Europan Championship through the play-offs involving 16 teams that compete for the last four slots.
Hungary needs to win both matches to succeed and reach the 24-nation tournament after the successful 2016 campaign.
A Friday draw will decide the fate of the Hungarian team.
In the featured photo: Hungary goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi. Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI