Switzerland advances to knockouts by sharing points with Germany, Hungary beat Scotland after Varga's collapse

June 24, 2024-  The third matchday kicks off with Group A fixtures, with hosts Germany against Switzerland and Hungary taking on Scotland. Both matches kicked off at the same time in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, respectively. The scoreline would have been 1-0 in favor of Germany as Robert Andrich opened the scoring from outside the box with a perfect strike in the 17th minute, but the goal didn't count as Jamal Musiala fouled the Swiss defender just before the goal. Switzerland took an early lead as Dan Ndoye braced a perfect one-touch goal, beating Manuel Neuer in the 28th minute. Germany dominated the match, but despite creating clear chances, they lacked finishing ability. During the 70th minute, Florian Wirtz gave a well-constructed pass to Maximilian Beier, but Switzerland's Manuel Akanji blocked it superbly. Germany leveled the score during the second minute of stoppage time when Niklas Fullkrug headed the ball into goal. Both teams qualified for the Round of 16, with Germany being the group toppers and Switzerland finishing second.

Niklas Fullkrug (No. 9) scores the equalizer in 90+2th Minute.

At MHP Arena in Stuttgart, Hungary faced Scotland, and both teams were competing to steal the third spot in the group, as the four best third-placed teams will advance to knockouts from six groups. Scotland started aggressively but were unable to create chances and shots; on the other hand, Hungary faced difficulty regaining possession but created constant threats in Scotland's box. In the 74th minute, Hungarian striker Barnabas Varga was injured as Scottish keeper Angus Gunn was trying to clear the ball. The game was halted for five to six minutes, then resumed with Martin Adam as his replacement. Kevin Csoboth came from the Hungarian bench during the 86th minute and scored the latest goal in European Championship history in the 90+10th minute after a pass from POTM Roland Sallai. Scotland missed yet another opportunity to qualify for the Euro knockout stages. Though Hungary won the match, they have to hope that other results go their way. As they are currently placed third in the rankings of all six third-placed teams, the best four teams will advance to the Round of 16. As Varga has suffered from various facial fractures and ruled out of the rest of tournament, Marco Rossi's side had to find a replacement for the injured forward, who was the only goal scorer for them before this match. 

 

Kevin Csoboth with his teammates celebrating his goal.

 

Final Results 

Germany          Switzerland 

1          -          1

Hungary          Scotland

1         -          0

By Sarthak Khode 

Contact- sarthakkhode@gmail.com