| Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai (left) battles for the ball with England's Reece James and Kalvin Phillips for the ball during the UEFA Nations League match at the Puskas Arena, Budapest. Picture date: Saturday June 4, 2022. |
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England suffered a surprise 1-0 loss
to impressive Hungary in a Nations League opener that started with the sound of
boos from stands filled with children as Gareth Southgate’s side took the knee.
Nine months ago racism marred the Three Lions’ 4-0 World
Cup qualification win at the Puskas Arena, which was half full on Saturday
despite the hosts serving a Uefa punishment for discriminatory behaviour at
Euro 2020.
There were around 35,000 in
attendance for a match that was supposedly being played behind closed doors as
Hungary made the most out of regulations that allowed children to attend in
such circumstances.
The composition of the crowd made
the pre-match jeering when England took the knee all the more jarring in
Budapest, where the Magyars went on to secure a shock, albeit deserved, 1-0 win
in the Group A3 opener.
Hungary last beat England in 1962
and it was Dominik Szoboszlai who wrote his name into the history books, firing
a well-struck penalty beyond Jordan Pickford in the second half.
The decision to award the spot-kick
for recently-introduced substitute Reece James’ challenge on Zsolt Nagy looked
harsh, but England could hardly argue with the result given how they toiled
throughout.
It was a demoralising start to a run
of four Nations League games in 11 days for Southgate’s men, who have to pick
themselves up for Tuesday’s tough trip to Germany.
"We've got a massive game on coming up on Tuesday. We need to look at this performance and learn from it very quickly," defender Conor Coady told Channel 4.
"I thought we started off quite well. We need to tidy up and bounce back. We need to look at how we performed and how we move forward because these are big games for us.
"We have lost and it's important we look at ourselves."
On the jeering as England players
took the knee, Coady added: "It's massively disappointing. It's important
people understand why are doing it. It's not something we want to hear. We want
to keep pushing the message."
Hungary impressed throughout this
match against the star-studded visitors, whose surprise at the number in
attendance will be matched by the reception for their pre-match anti-racism
gesture.
Harry Kane curled the ball wide
during a bright England start, with debutant Jarrod Bowen following a blocked
snapshot by hooking another effort at goal.
But Roland Sallai had got away a
shot before those attempts and Hungary came close to taking a 12th-minute lead.
A move that started at the back
ended with impressive Loic Nego greeting a diagonal ball with an exquisite
first-time cross from the right that Szoboszlai prodded past the onrushing
Pickford.
The ball was trickling towards the
line, only for Conor Coady to hack it clear.
It was a let-off for England as play
swung from end to end in the humid Hungarian capital, where Coady headed off
target before Nagy forced Pickford into a smart save.
The England goalkeeper was breathing
a sigh of relief in the 33rd minute after Adam Szalai attempted to score an
extraordinary opener.
The Hungary captain’s first thought
when turning just inside the England half was to leather an outrageous strike
that panicked Pickford before going just wide.
Bowen’s trickery would almost unlock
Marco Rossi’s Magyars, who continued to look undaunted in attack and Kyle
Walker just got back to prevent Szoboszlai meeting Nego’s latest fine cross.
Debutant James Justin took a knock
in the first half and was replaced at half-time by Bukayo Saka, who followed a
mazy run with a low shot that Peter Gulacsi stopped shortly after his
introduction.
But, again, this was far from
one-way traffic.
Nagy fired wide and Hungary
consistently unsteadied England down the flanks, with a deep cross leading to a
66th-minute winner.
Recently-introduced substitute James
was adjudged to have fouled Nagy when dealing with the ball from the right.
There was no VAR intervention and
Szoboszlai stepped up to slam home the resulting spot-kick, leading to
high-pitch squeals echoing around the Puskas Arena.
England upped the ante as they
searched for a leveller.
Bowen saw a shot saved, Jude
Bellingham had an attempt blocked and Coady headed across the face of goal, but
Hungary should have made it 2-0 in the 81st minute.
Saka, now playing as left-back, was
too far forward and substitute Laszlo Kleinheisler cut in and forced Pickford
into a save, with Andras Schafer somehow missing the rebound.
Bowen was denied from an acute angle
and Kane rifled into the side-netting as the clock wound down, with Hungary
holding on for a famous victory.
