The match was overshadowed by the fact that coach Ádám Szalai had to undergo medical treatment during the game.Continue reading
The Hungarian national football team drew 1-1 with Germany in the final round of the UEFA Nations League in 2024, at Puskás Arena in Budapest on Tuesday.
The opposition had the better of the game, and in the 76th minute, Germany took the lead through Felix Nmecha. Dominik Szoboszlai equalized with a last minute penalty to extend Hungary’s unbeaten home streak to 13 matches.
Felix Nmecha. Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Head coach Marco Rossi introduced a new addition to the squad, Zsombor Gruber, who came on as a second-half substitute.
A 2⃣0⃣ esztendős Gruber Zsombor ma játssza élete első felnőtt válogatott mérkőzését. #HUNGER #csakegyutt #magyarok
— MLSZ (@MLSZhivatalos) November 19, 2024
The head coach of the Hungarian team described the 1:1 draw after the game as well-deserved. When assessing the year as a whole, he emphasized that he was personally annoyed by the 5-0 defeat in Germany and the 4-0 defeat in the Netherlands, but said that one had to take into account the opponents against whom the two heavy defeats had come about. According to him
the national team has “not put in a superhuman performance this year, but neither has it achieved a minus.”
“Jól játszottunk, a tervezett taktika szerint. Sok helyzetünk volt, előbb lőhettünk volna gólt, mint ők. Nem felejthetjük el, hogy Németország volt az ellenfél, ezért elégedettek lehetünk. Szerencsénk volt a hajrában, remélem Fortuna mostantól ismét mellénk áll.”#HUNGER pic.twitter.com/AIZm5aH5FQ
— MLSZ (@MLSZhivatalos) November 19, 2024
“The result is okay because we had a lot of chances, but we could not finish them off cleanly. After the many changes and the 7-0 win against Bosnia, a game like this was to be expected. Despite the draw, it was not all bad, but you could tell the players wanted to get this game over with,” noted the Germany head coach, assessing the match.
Julian Nagelsmann explained that the German national team had had an extremely positive year, an exceptionally good team had been formed, thanks to which the atmosphere in the squad was better than it had been for a long time.
Julian Nagelsmann. Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
When asked whether he would like to face the Hungarian national team again in the 2025 World Cup qualifiers, the German coach replied: “I would only be happy about the Hungarians because I like their coach and know a lot of the players. However, apart from that, it is difficult to play against them, it was not easy at the UEFA Euro 2024 either, thus there would be more pleasant opponents from the second pot.”
The match no longer had any influence on the outcome of the group; the Germans progressed to the quarter-finals as group winners, while the Hungarian team finished in third place.
The national team will next play in the Nations League in March against a group runner-up from the B division.
This will be Hungary’s 1,000th official international match. The draw on Friday will decide whether Austria, Greece, Ukraine, or Turkey will be the opponent.
Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/Kovács Tamás