Hungary 2020 UEFA Euro Betting
No team had a more unfortunate draw into EURO 2020 than Hungary. Hungary is making just its second appearance at the European Championships since 1972, but they were drawn into the Group of Death. Defending champions Portugal are in this group along with 2018 World Cup champions France, and three-time Euro winners Germany. It will be nigh impossible for Hungary to make it out of Group F, but any result would be celebrated wildly in the streets of Budapest.
Hungary Squad Profile
UEFA Euro Odds: +35000
Coach: Marco Rossi
FIFA Ranking: 37
Best Finish: Third Place (1964)
Group: D ( Portugal, France and Germany )
How They Got Here
Hungary was one of four countries to qualify for EURO 2020 out of Group E. The Magyars finished in fourth place out of five teams, but their wins over Croatia and Wales at home helped them make the 16-team playoff for the final four spots in this summer’s tournament.
They had no trouble with Bulgaria in their first match with goals from Willi Orban, Zsolt Kalmar, and Nemanja Nikolic in a 3-1 victory. That set up a showdown with Iceland in Budapest, and they crushed Icelandic dreams in a win that would have sent the crowd into a frenzy if there was one in attendance. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored in the 11th minute for Iceland, and that lead held until the 88th minute when Loic Nego found the back of the net for Hungary. Dominik Szoboszlai scored for the hosts a few minutes later to decide the matter for the Magyars in regulation.
Team Preview
Captain Adam Szalai is the leading active goal scorer for Hungary. Szalai has 23 goals in 70 appearances with the national team. He is a veteran of the Bundesliga with over 240 caps and 52 goals in the German top-flight over the last decade, and he will be a pivot point of the attack. Former Chicago Fire forward Nemanja Nikolic will complement him up top.
Former captain Balazs Dzsudzsak was unable to break his tie with Gabor Kiraly as the most capped international in Hungarian history. Dzsudzsak has not been called up for the national team since 2019, and manager Marco Rossi doesn’t appear keen on adding him to the EURO 2020 roster.
That means the midfield will rely heavily on 20-year-old sensation Dominik Szoboszlai. The hero of qualifying has been sidelined with injuries for most of this season, but his talent led to him being courted by Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid. Szoboszlai has excited the brass at Red Bull Leipzig, and he will need to be at his best for Hungary to have a chance against the three behemoths in its group.
There isn’t a player with more than 40 international caps in Hungary’s back line. Willi Orban is the best of the bunch, and he has five goals in 20 games with Hungary. Attila Szalai is someone to keep an eye on, but the rest of this bunch is mediocre. Mainstay Peter Gulacsi will be in net.
Hungary Schedule
GROUP STAGE
Tuesday June 15
Hungary vs. Portugal (Budapest; noon ET, 6 p.m.)
Saturday June 19
Hungary vs. France (Budapest; 9 a.m. ET, 3 p.m.)
Wednesday June 23
Germany vs. Hungary (Munich; 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m.)
Hungary’s History at the European Championships
Hungary was one of the first truly elite teams in international football. The Magnificent Magyars were the best team in the world for most of the 1950s with a 43-6-1 record over a six-year stretch. They were the best team to never win a major international tournament as they lost a controversial 1954 World Cup Final against West Germany, and they drubbed England 6-3 and 7-1 during that stretch. Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis became international stars, but they never played in a European Championship as the tournament was created after they had retired.
Their first trip to the Euros was successful as Hungary finished in third place at the 1964 Euros. They came in fourth place at the 1972 Euros, but they didn’t qualify for this competition again until 2016. Hungary surprisingly won a group that included Iceland, Portugal, and Austria. The Magyars bested Austria 2-0 in the opener, and then they benefited from a late own goal to get a 1-1 draw with Iceland. They played Portugal to a wild 3-3 draw to win the group on goal differential, but they were smashed by Belgium in the Round of 16.
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