Andy Hunter’s match report is here, which is my cue to leave. Don’t forget to join Luke for Portugal v Germany. Bye!
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Euros all-time top scorers:
— Niall McVeigh (@niallmcveigh) June 19, 2021
11: Ronaldo
9: Platini
7: Griezmann, Shearer#FRA #EURO2020
Next up, a biggie: Portugal v Germany with Luke McLaughlin.
Both teams play their final group games on Wednesday evening. Hungary meet Germany in Munich; France play Portugal in Budapest.
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The Hungary keeper Peter Gulacsi clenches his first and screams with delight. He made a vital late save from Kylian Mbappe and ensured Hungary would get a famous draw against the world champions. They worked incredibly hard in sweltering heat and this time, unlike against Portugal, they didn’t fall at the final hurdle.
Attila Fiola’s barnstorming goal gave them the lead just before half-time, and France were starting to panic when Antoine Griezmann equalised in the 66th minute. They will go through to the knockout stages, but it’s far from certain that they will top the group.
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Full time: Hungary 1-1 France
Lemar’s cross is headed wide by the stretching Varane, and that’s the last touch of the game!
No penalty! That could easily have been given.
90+4 min Griezmann’s free-kick is punched away by Gulacsi, then Michael Oliver stops play so that Botka can receive treatment. He was all over Kimpembe, grabbing his shirt, and then went down himself. There’s a VAR check for a France penalty!
90+3 min Ninety seconds to go. Kante is fouled by Fiola near the corner flag on the right. This is a good chance for France to shatter Hungary and steal a winner.
90+1 min A half full Coke bottle has just been thrown onto the pitch near the Hungarian keeper Gulacsi. Nobody seems too bothered by it.
90 min Four minutes of added time.
89 min France are still pushing for a winner, albeit without too much conviction. Hungary deserve a point.
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87 min Another change for France. Thomas Lemar replaces Ousmane Dembele, who only came on in the 57th minute. I’m pretty sure Dembele is injured.
85 min Hungary started with a 3-3-2-2 formation. Now it’s 5-3-2-0-0-0-0-0-0.
84 min A change for Hungary: Gergo Lovrencsics replaces the excellent Laszlo Kleinheisler.
82 min Moments later, Tolisso’s long-range shot is comfortably saved by Gulacsi.
82 min: Good save from Gulacsi! Griezmann gets between the lines and pokes the ball towards Giroud on the edge of the area. A defender comes across and diverts the ball* to Mbappe, who controls it deftly and hammers a rising shot with his left foot that is beaten away at the near post by Gulacsi.
* I think, though it might have been a deliberate touch from Giroud; it’s hard to tell.
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80 min Hungary were level at this stage of their first game and ended up losing 3-0. They look tired, having worked like beasts in extreme heat, but they are hanging on.
79 min “Hi Rob,” says Ruth Purdue. “Please can you ask Simon if he looked at the love hearts in turn before he ate them?”
Of course he did. To do otherwise is frankly barbaric.
77 min If it stays like this, most bets are off in the Group of Death. France will be through but might not finish top, which would a change a few wallcharts.
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76 min And Hungary bring on Tamas Cseri for Andras Schafer.
76 min A double change for France: Corentin Tolisso and Olivier Giroud replace Paul Pogba and Karim Benzema.
74 min Sallai’s deflected shot from 25 yards is comfortably saved to his left by Lloris.
72 min It’s all France now. Dembele’s low cross is taken off Mbappe’s toe by Schafer (I think), then Griezmann is tripped just outside the area. Michael Oliver plays the advantage and Kante shoots wide. France invite him to bring the play back for the foul; he politely declines their kind offer.
70 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I’ve just eaten a packet of Love Hearts for the first time in a while, and they were better than I remember. Rather enjoyable in fact. The last one urged me to ‘cheer up’ so not only have I had a welcome sugar rush, I’ve been given some sound life coaching as well. Maybe Uefa/the FA could offer them a sponsorship deal?”
Drinks break
69 min A clever free-kick from Griezmann finds Mbappe, who tries to hook a volley towards goal as the ball drops over his right shoulder. It’s a really difficult chance and he can only slice it wide of the near post.
It was a route-one goal, believe it or not. Lloris collected a free-kick and hammered the ball straight downfield towards Mbappe. The two Hungary defenders let the ball bounce and from that moment they were in trouble. Mbappe muscled Nego aside to take possession on the right side of the area, then moved away from Nego and drove the ball across the face of goal. Orban got a slight touch on the ball but could only divert it straight to Griezmann, who slammed it in from close range.
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GOAL! Hungary 1-1 France (Griezmann 66)
And like that, Hungary’s lead has gone.
64 min France look rattled, and Pavard commits another silly foul on the outstanding Sallai. He has carried the ball brilliantly all afternoon.
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63 min France have switched to a 4-2-3-1 since the introduction of Dembele. He is on the right with Mbappe on the left and Griezmann behind Benzema.
62 min “Really enjoyed the interview with Thiago Alcântara,” writes Phil Podolsky. “A player of creative genius who soberly acknowledges that the game is changing in a direction that’s hostile to what he represents, yet also understands that he’s not the protagonist of reality and everyone has to adapt. That’s the old ‘in the struggle between yourself and the world, second the world’ attitude right there.”
Sid Lowe consistently does tremendous interviews.
61 min Kleinheisler’s cross hits the hand of Kimpembe in the area, but it was down by his side and there’s no credible claim for a penalty.
60 min “Dear Rob,” writes Esther and Tamara. “Watching the sweltering match from sweltering Berlin. Hoping that Benzema gets his act together soon. We both agree that Kante has lovely shoes and that Griezmann (or as we have christened him Man Bun Plays) is a great forward alongside Mbappe. In short we are enthusiastic if clueless France supporters.”
By a strange coincidence, Enthusiastic if Clueless is the name of my twee pop band.
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59 min: Dembele hits the post! That’s how to make an impact as a substitute. Dembele cuts infield from the right, chops back outside a couple of defenders and smashes a shot that beats Gulacsi for pace and thumps off the outside of the near post. That was scintillating.
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58 min Pavard dangles a leg at Fiola, who declines the opportunity to run into it and appeal for a penalty. That was a risky challenge from Pavard, a reflection of France’s slightly scrambled minds.
57 min Rabiot commits a silly foul on Nikolic. It’s his last contribution: he has been replaced by Ousmane Dembele.
55 min The last few minutes have been more comfortable by Hungary. Ten down, 35 to go.
53 min The impressive Sallai buys Hungary a bit of time, protecting the ball and drawing a foul from Kimpembe.
52 min Botka is booked for a foul on Mbappe.
52 min Pogba, who looks sharper since half-time, slips as he takes a long-range shot and it spins a few yards wide. Pogba slaps the ground in frustration.
50 min Griezmann’s corner is flicked on by Pogba and cleared desperately by a couple of Hungarian defenders.
49 min Good play from Pogba, who beats a man on the right hand and smashes a cross towards Benzema that is punched away by the stretching Gulacsi. The rebound is picked up by Digne, whose follow-up cross is blocked.
47 min “Well, well, well,” writes Mary Waltz. “As much as I want Hungary to lose for reasons apart from football (and wisely will not be discussed) that goal does make for a dramatic second half. Hungary will tear and claw at France and hope that France will get so frustrated that they abandon the game that normally overwhelms opponents.”
46 min Peep peep! France begin the second half.
“Interesting match so far,” writes João André. “Not too dissimilar to Hungary-Portugal, but with France having better forwards and with that mistake from Varane (brilliant defender, but does need a Ramos next to him). It seems that the key to beat this Hungarian team is a player who can carry the ball in midfield to break the lines. Portugal was much better after Sanches went on, so France should do the same. Wonder if they have a player capable of that. Someone like a Pogba or... oh...”
He’s been quiet today, which must raise questions about the tactical nous of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“I understand that players get excited when they score but did Fiola have to upturn that woman’s chess board in his celebration?” says David Wall. “Is there no respect for those who enjoy quieter, more cerebral pastimes?”
Was it actually a chess board? That makes it even funnier.
“Rob, others are saying it, not just me: Giroud needs to play,” says Kevin Query. “Mbappe is too brash at the moment, and France needs some measured buildup that could easily happen with Benzema and Giroud.”
You’d leave Mbappe out? Really? It’s Giroud or Benzema, surely.
Have a look at the celebration
😱 What a goal! What a celebration!
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 19, 2021
Hungary have shocked France.#HUN 1-0 #FRA
📺💻📲 Watch: https://t.co/TrUauNiyxt#bbceuro2020 #euro2020 pic.twitter.com/ZgqLzIOCu0
“Hi Rob,” writes Anand. “Anand here, have followed you on OBO. Saw that you are covering Euro today. So, curious to know how you decide what to cover or who draws up the roster? Do you have a drawing of lots at the Guardian? When can we expect you at the World Test Championship final?”
An unsung genius called Philip Cornwall does the rota for all staff on the sports desk – editors, writers, sub-editors, picture desk, the lot. Then the editors assign games/tasks for the writers on a week-by-week basis. Then us egomaniacal writers moan about not getting the matches we wanted. As for the cricket, I think I’m down for day five, if it goes that far.
Half-time reading
Half time: Hungary 1-0 France
Well I never. Hungary lead the world champions through a memorable goal from the left wing-back Attila Fiola. France had most of the ball, most of the chances, and all of that matters not one jot.
45+4 min That really was an outstanding goal. The defending wasn’t great, from Pavard or Varane, but Fiola’s dynamism deserved that reward.
Attila Fiola has sent the Puskas Arena into ecstasy. Nagy drove a crossfield pass towards Fiola, just inside the France half. He headed it infield towards Sallai, collected the return and hurtled away from Pavard towards the penalty area. Varane was on the wrong side and couldn’t challenge him, so Fiola kept going and then slid the ball past Lloris at the near post. What an outstanding, carpe-diem goal from Fiola. He’s the left wing-back!
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GOAL! Hungary 1-0 France (Fiola 45+2)
Hungary have scored!
45 min The drinks break and the injury to Adam Szalai mean there will be five minutes of added time.
44 min Nikolic’s long-range shot hits his teammate Fiola and goes well wide. I don’t think it was going to trouble Lloris anyway.
43 min Hungary are a limited team but their team spirit and work rate are pretty impressive. It was the sme against Portugal.
42 min “I see the players spray agua on themselves, not Coke,” writes Cristia- Len Micay.
41 min “On German TV we were just told that Adam Szalai had ‘circulation problems due to the heat’,” writes Ingo Herzke. “That’s from the Hungarian press team.”
That’s a bit worrying. It does look ferociously hot in Budapest.
40 min Pogba, who is wearing boots that look like the top of a Fab lolly, is unhappy after Fiola stands on his foot. Michael Oliver decides it’s not worth a booking.
39 min I can’t remember the last time Hungary crossed the halfway line. France are so good at wearing teams down.
38 min “If Hungary lose today, all the pre-tournament dark horses will be fighting for the lives in the final round of matches,” says Anis Aslaam. “Turkey, Denmark, Scotland… They’re all in the same boat.”
That’s a good point; Turkey in particular have been such a disappointment. But did anyone really give Hungary a chance of getting out of this group?
37 min Pavard pushes the ball into Pogba, who turns Nagy and rifles the ball into the side netting from a ludicrously tight angle. That was the wrong option, but it was a lovely turn. It feels like a matter of time before France score.
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35 min France break three on two. Mbappe plays the ball square to Benzema, who tries to flick it with the outside of his right foot to the unmarked Griezmann. It hits the chest of Attila Szalai, whose positioning probably saved a goal.
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34 min “France might have two goals by now if Olivier Giroud had taken the headers Mbappe missed,” says John Hess. “Just saying.”
I can see the headlines now: ONCE RESPECTED ENGLISH NEWSPAPER THE GUARDIAN SAYS GIROUD SUPERIOR TO ‘LOSER’ MBAPPE.
33 min Mbappe receives the ball on the edge of the area, turns and beats three players in a phonebox with some dizzying footwork. That creates a shooting chance, which he drags across goal and well wide. It wasn’t a great effort, but the run was mesmerising.
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31 min: Benzema misses a sitter! Griezmann curls the ball into Mbappe, who makes another excellent angled run across the area. He controls the ball on the run then flicks it behind him to Benzema, a brilliant piece of skill. Benzema runs imperiously onto the bouncing ball but then shins it wide of the near post. That was a great chance, and a surprisingly poor effort.
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29 min Lloris charges to the edge of his area to beat the substitute Nikolic to Fiola’s through ball. That was excellent goalkeeping.
28 min “How do you rate this Euro so far,” says Bogdan Kotarlic. I think that it has been little bit below expectations and I hope the teams will improve in the rest of the tournament. Too many defensive minded games, especially in the last few days?”
I think it’s been pretty good, maybe 6.5/10. I’m loath to judge during the group stage, because you end up with people hailing the best tournament ever, as in 2014, before being bored to tears for the majority of the knockout stages.
27 min Mbappe’s free-kick hits the substitute Nikolic straight in the face, knocking him over. He springs to his feet and starts slapping himself about the coupon to liven himself up.
26 min The captain Szalai is replaced by Nemanja Nikolic.
26 min I’m not sure what happened to Adam Szalai but he looks very groggy as he walks towards the touchline. His work is done for the day.
Drinks break It’s sweltering in Budapest, and an injury to Adam Szalai allows the players to wander over the touchline for some aqua.
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23 min Pogba is fouled 30 yards from goal by Schafer, who was drawn into the challenge by a poor first touch from Pogba. France are slowly, surely taking control of the game.
23 min “This fixture brings back memories of my first World Cup in 1978 when, as an eight-year-old, all foreign teams were truly exotic,” says Mark Lewis. “I remember ticker tape, Kempes, Gemmill, and much more but above all, the final group game between these two teams when France played in green and white stripes due to a kit mix up.”
21 min Benzema’s short-range, half-volleyed cross is headed over by the stretching Mbappe. The ball was slightly too high for him to control the header.
20 min I haven’t seen much of Freiburg’s Roland Sallai before, but he looks an excellent player - bright, skilful and with a healthy dose or arrogance.
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19 min Lovely stkill from Roland Sallai, who flicks the ball one side of Kimpembe and tries to run round the other. Kimpembe disabuses him of this notion with an emphatic shoulder charge that puts Sallai on the canvas. I’m surprised Kimpembe wasn’t booked for that.
17 min: Just wide from Mbappe! Benzema plays a simple pass down the left wing to Digne. He shapes a lovely, precise cross towards Mbappe, who arrives late and connects with a header that curls just wide of the far post.
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16 min At the other end, Kleinheisler’s long-range dribbles tamely through to Lloris.
14 min: Good save from Gulacsi! Benzema picks up a loose ball 20 yards out and hits a daisy-cutter that is saved by Gulacsi, sprawling to his right. He pushes it straight to Griezmann, who returns the favour by hitting his shot at Gulacsi rather than into the otherwise vacant net. It was a terrible miss - but it turned out Griezmann was offside, so it wouldn’t have counted had he a scored.
12 min “Football manual for today,” begins Mary Waltz. “Whenever any contact is made, first collapse to the ground. Then grab your head no matter where the contact is made. Rolling, twitching is recommended. If the foul is not given, spring to your feet and continue playing. See Neymar for great examples; he is the Meryl Streep of faux injuries.”
10 min Kleinheisler’s free-kick is put behind for a corner, which is taken comfortably by Lloris.
10 min Now they do have some success: Pavard is booked for another foul on Sallai. I’m not it was a foul, but there you go.
10 min Hungary are trying it on with the referee, so far without success. When Pavard fouls Sallai, the manager Marco Rossi is up off the bench waving an imaginary card.
9 min Pogba wins the first corner for France down the right. Griezmann curls it in, Adam Szalai heads it away at the near post.
8 min France are again playing 4-3-3, not the diamond that we expected before the tournament. Griezmann is diligently chugging up and down the right flank.
7 min France haven’t got going. It was the same against Germany - they took around 10 minutes to stir, and then they were brilliant.
4 min It’s been a really fast start from Hungary, and Varane brings down the flying Sallai on the left wing. The free-kick is headed away.
2 min “I expect to see at least seven bookings and one sending off as the ref is English and they ref to the last tournament (like our generals to the last war),” says Phil Haran. “So far I have seen far fewer histrionics rewarded by free-kicks from MOST refs. Let’s hope Mr Oliver can catch that mood swing rather than decide that every touch equals a foul.”
It’s a good point. While there are one or two clowns with whistles in the Premier League, I think it’s a cultural problem more than individual incompetence. The use of VAR in this tournament has highlighted what an officious mess English football/England is in.
1 min Pavard, who was in the wars agianst Germany, is sent up in the air by a fierce block tackle from Fiola. A free-kick, nothing more.
1 min Peep peep! Hungary kick off from left to right. They need at least a point today, or they’re going home. Yes I know they’re already at home, what’s your point?
“Any chance David Reynolds could update us on the amount of money Orban’s government are investing in promoting football to LGBTQ+ communities?” says Jimmy Ainsworth. “I’ll wait.”
I have no sympathy for Orban at all, but I don’t think that was the point David was making. Even Anyway, let’s leave the subject there; any discussion will only end with somebody trying to get me sacked for publishing an email they don’t agree with.
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The teams are in the tunnel, ready to walk into the furnace. Hungary are in their red home strip; France are wearing their elegant white change strip.
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Budapest is scorchingly hot today, temperatures are in the 30’s and it is hard to imagine that won’t have an impact on the #Fra v #HUN game. UEFA say a decision on cooling/water breaks will be taken prior to kick off. #EURO2020 @BBCSport #bbceuro2020 pic.twitter.com/JWrbKkXP74
— Seth Bennett (@Sethb45) June 19, 2021
“I hope France destroy this Hungary team and silence this crowd,” says Ruth Purdue. “I also hope that the BBC, take a different tact from ITV, with how they are going to cover the whole game.”
I haven’t seen all of the build-up as I went to get a coffee, but I don’t think they’ve mentioned the homophobia.
Here’s a piece from earlier in the week on the same subject
“Afternoon Rob,” writes David Reynolds. “It has been very disappointing to see the uniformly negative coverage of Hungary’s investment in football in our press in the last week, which has been quite unfair and misleading. The tenor of it has been, to paraphrase, that this investment has largely been a vanity project of the current government which has involved flash stadium projects alongside little to impact on the game itself. Please allow me to redress this inaccurate impression.
“Firstly, it is important to note the situation when the Hungarian FA launched its long-term football strategy a decade ago, which was, in short, that most people did not play football or watch Hungarian football. To quote from that strategy (which is in English and online): ‘Today the greatest enemy of Hungarian football is the indifference that has more and more surrounded Hungarian football in recent years.’
“In this context, the strategy has aimed at producing a wide foundation for football in Hungary, in which more people played the game and more watched the game in person. Therefore the two biggest policies were the expansion of grassroots facilities and the development of stadia, which were in a worse state that even neighbouring countries.
“So while critics have focused on the investment in new stadia (which countries all around Europe have done with little similar criticism), it is ignored that over a thousand new football pitches have been created around the country in the last decade, and many more renovated, while the number of registered football players in Hungary has more than doubled. This is a great start. It would be a shame if people who were critical of this government ignored this improvement to create an unfairly negative image of real progress.
“Something should also be said regarding the funding. Firstly, around 90% of Hungarian sporting facilities of the main sports were already owned by governments (local or national), and so investing in these facilities is improving community assets. Secondly a lot of major investment has come about thanks to a tax deduction scheme, whereby companies can make tax deductible investment in sporting facilities.
“Some folks may not like this government, and argument about alternative objects of spending can always be made, but there has been real improvement according to sound long-term thinking and laudable targets.”
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“When the great national football powers produce excellent teams, each one tends to have its own unique virtues, but when they fail, they tend to follow a national script,” says Kári Tulinius. “For example, Spain keep the ball but never score, Italy bag an early goal and invite pressure until they concede, and France become a collection of individuals, rather than a team, riven by acrimony.
“There were hints of that before the tournament, but based on the performance against Germany, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Perhaps the comparatively milder pressure of playing against Hungary will allow the cracks to show, otherwise the rest of the field should really fear France.”
Team news
Both teams make one change from their opening match. The right wing-back Loic Nego, who was born in France and played for them at various age-group levels, comes into the Hungary team in place of Gergo Lovrencsics. He will be up against Everton’s Lucas Digne, who has replaced Lucas Hernandez at left-back for France.
Hungary (3-3-2-2) Gulacsi; Botka, Orban, Attila Szalai; Nego, Nagy, Fiola; Kleinheisler, Schafer; Adam Szalai, Sallai.
Substitutes: Dibusz, Bogdan, Lang, Kecskes, Cseri, Holender, Lovrencsics, R Varga, Siger, K Varga, Nikolic, Schon.
France (4-3-3) Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Digne; Pogba, Kante, Rabiot; Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappe.
Substitutes: Mandanda, Maignan, Lenglet, Lemar, Giroud, Dembele, Tolisso, Sissoko, Hernandez, Dubois, Kounde, Thuram.
Referee Michael Oliver (England)
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Preamble
It was only 1-0, but the authority of France’s win against Germany was pretty ominous for those with any teams with hopes of winning Euro 2020. The mood can change very quickly at a big tournament, as England are finding out. But right here, right now, France look a class apart. If they Hungary today they will qualify for the last 16 with a game to spare, and have a hearty laugh in the face of the Group of Death.
Hungary lost their opening game 3-0 to Portugal, though that scoreline doesn’t tell the story of a contest that was goalless after 83 minutes. They will have home advantage again today, with a raucous 67,000 crowd in Budapest, so maybe that will unnerve France. Hungary aren’t the only team who will hope so.
Kick off 2pm in London, 3pm in Budapest and Paris.
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