Late drama sees unbeaten Germany wrap up group phase with draw in Hungary
Julian Nagelsmann made nine changes to the Germany side that beat Bosnia & Herzegovina with top spot already secured, and his team quickly settled into proceedings despite Szoboszlai causing an early scare by cutting out Felix Nmecha’s pass.
They were still confronted by a strong Hungary defence that limited their clear-cut opportunities, with Serge Gnabry firing wide when the visitors found a rare opening.
The Magyars also applied pressure further up the pitch and won possession in the corner, although Barnabas Varga couldn’t turn his improvised effort on target from Szoboszlai’s cross.
The hosts continued to show intent and Andras Schafer forced Alexander Nubel into the game’s first save after Roland Sallai’s attempt was deflected towards him.
Benjamin Henrichs’ free-kick fizzed agonisingly over the crossbar and two timely interventions from Marton Dardai were required to deny Gnabry. Even so, Nubel was once again the goalkeeper being tested after Zsolt Nagy was released behind the German backline in the 39th minute.
Robin Gosens was introduced at half-time and was teed up by Gnabry for Germany’s first shot on target five minutes later, although his effort was routinely dealt with by Denes Dibusz.
At the other end, Szoboszlai floated a corner towards Loic Nego, whose ambitious volley was blocked by Robin Koch.
Julian Brandt then had the ball in Hungary’s net before seeing his goal ruled out having been offside. That was followed by Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz being introduced in search of a German winner, and the latter soon struck the post before Dardai blocked Leroy Sane’s follow-up.
Nubel was then forced into a superb save just to keep them level after Varga linked up with Sallai and got his shot off.
The opener eventually arrived in the 76th minute, when Nmecha marked his first international start by poking the ball home after Nico Schlotterbeck’s initial header had been saved.
There was late drama as Koch was deemed to have handled Mihaly Kata’s attempt to concede a penalty that Szoboszlai cheekily dispatched with a Panenka from the last kick, as Hungary went a 13th consecutive home match unbeaten in a run stretching back to September 2022 ahead of the relegation play-off.
Despite surrendering their victory, enter the knockout stage having not lost inside 90 minutes during any of their 15 matches in 2024.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marton Dardai (Hungary)
