EURO 2024 Talking Points: Germans hit first bump in the road as Hungary find late hope
Germans show flicker of weakness
After two strong performances - a 5-1 thrashing of Scotland and a 2-0 win over Hungary - tournament hosts Germany showed a flicker of fragility in their third-round clash with Switzerland on Sunday, which ended 1-1 in Frankfurt.
Germany conceded their first goal off the boot of an opposition player for the tournament, having only conceded an own goal in their opener against Scotland. What's more, it took them until the final moments to find an equaliser with Niclas Fullkrug levelling the scores in the 92nd minute.
Although the Germans’ underlying stats would suggest they should have comfortably beaten the Swiss - they had 62 per cent possession and 1.65 xG versus 0.57 - they showed they are capable of being undone.
It's certainly not time to panic for Julian Nagelsmann and his troops but the Germans' next opponents will look at the Swiss blueprint for stifling them and try to replicate it in the knock-out phase.
Having topped Group A, Germany will next face the runner-up in Group C (likely to be Denmark, Serbia or Slovenia). As for the Swiss, they secured second spot and will next face the runner-up in Group B (likely to be Italy or Croatia).
Scotland go out with a whimper
Scotland offered little going forward at Euro 2024 and failed to find a winner against a similarly poor Hungary side in Sunday's do-or-die clash in Group A. In the end, it was Hungary who found a dramatic last-gasp goal to win the game 1-0 and give themselves hope of progression.
Scotland began their tournament with an embarrassing defeat to the hosts and even though Steve Clarke's side responded with a well-earned draw with Switzerland (1-1), they let themselves down once again in their final defeat in Stuttgart.
The Scots will point to a second-half penalty shout that VAR decided not to look at but it was a marginal call and they can't have too many complaints after mustering just one shot on target all game.
With the exit, Scotland continue their unwelcome record of never having progressed from the group stage of a major tournament.
As for Hungary, they began the tournament in the same vein as they remained until the 100th minute on Sunday - largely lacking much threat. And they were heading towards an uninspiring draw, and tournament exit, against Scotland before they hit them on the counterattack to clinch a famous and dramatic win.
Kevin Csoboth cooly finished off the move to the joy of the Hungarian fans and the win gives them faint hope of progression. Do they deserve it? Not necessarily but they will take the chance and run with it should they go through to the next round.
Varga suffers serious fall
One of the big talking points in Stuttgart was the serious injury suffered by Hungary's Barnabas Varga when he collided with Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn after 70 minutes.
Varga went to contest a ball with the keeper and the two came together with the striker landing very awkwardly. Soon medical staff ran onto the pitch and Varga was shielded from view as he was attended to. He was stretchered off after a long delay.
The seriousness of the reaction prompted many to fear the worst but news came in after the final whistle that he was conscious and in a stable condition.
Hungarian captain Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Varga's shirt immediately after his side's last-minute winner to commemorate his hurt buddy.
