EURO 2024 Group A Final: Hungary Waiting for a Playoff Ticket

TPO - The Hungarian team won a last-minute victory over Scotland to open up hope of reaching the round of 16 of EURO 2024.

EURO 2024 Group A Final: Hungary Waiting for a Wild Card Photo 1

Kevin Csoboth celebrates scoring the winning goal against Scotland

The situation in Group A of EURO 2024 is relatively clear before the final match. Host Germany has already secured a ticket to the next round after 2 wins, while Switzerland also has one foot in the next round. The match between the two teams is only meaningful in determining the first and second place in the group. Meanwhile, Scotland and Hungary must fight for 3rd place, thereby opening up hope of a ticket to the round of 16.

Both matches were tense and dramatic until the last minute. The host Germany surprised everyone by fielding their strongest lineup against Switzerland. Coach Julian Nagelsmann kept the same starting lineup as the previous two matches. However, Switzerland proved that they are not an easy opponent to bully.

In this match, Switzerland played defensive counter-attacking and they caused Germany a lot of trouble when they scored first in the 28th minute thanks to Ndoye. Switzerland maintained the lead until the last minute. If they won, they would have taken the top spot from Germany, but this did not happen. In the 90+2 minute, Fullkrug headed accurately to equalize 1-1 for the home team. With the draw, the two teams maintained their positions on the rankings and went hand in hand to continue.

In the remaining match, Scotland and Hungary had a "physical torture" until the 90+10 minute. In the first half, Scotland had more possession but their attacks were deadlocked and they could not finish. In contrast, Hungary had 5 shots.

In the second half, it was a similar story. The match was added 10 minutes of injury time after Barnabas Varga suffered a horrific injury. During this time, both teams were “all in”, because a draw would mean elimination. In the end, Hungary won in the 90+10 minute after an exemplary counter-attack. Their hero was 24-year-old striker Kevin Csoboth.

Hungary won 1-0, taking third place in Group A from Scotland. However, their chances of progressing are still unclear. Hungary have only 3 points while their goal difference is -3. They will have to wait for the results of the remaining groups to know their fate.

EURO 2024 Group A Final Standings