Football Festival in Budapest: The last cross, the last chance: France’s center defender Raphaël Varane had climbed into the air to head the ball in the last second of the match against Hungary, but his attempt went next to the goal. Immediately afterwards, the English referee Michael Oliver whistled off the game of the group F underdog against the world champion – and the atmosphere in the packed Budapest stadium, which was already ecstatic during the game, increased again considerably. The reason?
The result: Hungary scored a point against France in their second home game. It was 1: 1 (1: 0) in the end, the home side had meanwhile even led against the tournament favorites. Click here for the match report.
The course of the game: Although the Hungarians fought sacrificially and had opportunities for their part, France could have won the party – had they used their chances. Examples: Kylian Mbappé heads just past the goal (17th), Karim Benzema’s direct take-off from a few meters goes next to the goal (31st), Mbappé warps (33rd), Ousmane Dembélé hits the post (59th), Péter Gulácsi parries brilliantly against Mbappé (82nd) - and then there was Varane, who heads past in the last second.
Early end: For Hungary’s attacker Ádám Szalai, who played for Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga, the game was over in the 26th minute. First, the ARD reported that Szalai had been replaced with circulatory problems because of the heat in the stadium. However, the Hungarian Association later announced that Szalai had been hit in the head and felt dizzy. According to national coach Marco Rossi, Szalai was taken to hospital.
Welcome to the game: Szalai substitute Nemanja Nikolics also had to fight initially. A few seconds after being substituted on, he experienced a very painful entry into the game. He took his place in the wall – and got a free kick from Mbappé in the face. Nikolics put his hands in front of his face and fell to the floor. However, he was able to continue playing.
The 1-0 for Hungary !: After shifting from right to left, Attila Fiola headed the ball into the middle and got it straight back into the barrel. France’s defender Varane decided against a foul and Fiola was able to slide into the left corner to take the lead. With his goal, the 31-year-old Hungarian ended an impressive series for the French:
Cleared !: Not only the fans could hardly keep their emotions under control in view of the leadership, Fiola also cheered ecstatically. He jumped over a barrier and in exuberance cleared a bottle from a reporter’s table. A woman with a microphone who was sitting behind the table could only look on in amazement. However, she apparently took it with humor, at least she smiled in the TV pictures.
Formerly French, now Hungarian: Loïc Négo was born in Paris and won the 2010 European Championship in France with the French U19 national team. In 2019 he became Hungarian. Négo has played for the Hungarian club Fehérvár FC since 2015. In the playoff final for participation in the European Championship against Iceland, he contributed a goal to 2-1. He remained inconspicuous against France.
The 1: 1: After a long Goal kick from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Mbappé claimed the ball deep in the Hungarians’ half, penetrated the penalty area and put the ball in the middle. Willi Orban, who was unlucky twice in the game against Portugal despite a good performance, failed with a rescue attempt, the ball landed at the feet of Antoine Griezmann – and he did not miss the chance.
Brief appearance: Dembélé came into play in the 57th minute and had a strong scene with his shot from the post. But in the episode there wasn’t much to see of the offensive player, in the 87th minute he had to leave the field again. As he walked to the stands, he grabbed his back thigh.
What was it, Mr Griezmann ?: “You can see that it is difficult against Hungary,” said Griezmann, who looked a little perplexed: “I don’t know what was missing. Im done. It was really hot. It was the first time for us in a full stadium. We are no longer used to a full stadium. We didn’t hear each other. “
Note: We have corrected the reason for Ádám Szalai’s substitution after the association issued a statement.
