An unfortunate but ultimately comprehensive defeat in Amsterdam on Saturday evening means Hungary will finish third in their group and contest a play-off tie in March for the right to play in League A next time. Meanwhile, Ádám Szalai is in a stable condition in hospital after the assistant coach fell ill by the side of the pitch in the game’s early stages and was taken to hospital.
“Thank you for the many messages, I’m fine”, Szalai wrote on Facebook.
Netherlands defeated Hungary
Head coach Marco Rossi opted for his first-choice goalkeeper this autumn, Dénes Dibusz, in goal behind a three-man defence of Botond Balogh, Willi Orbán and Márton Dárdai. The long-favoured 3-4-3 formation featured Loic Nego on the right of midfield, Tamás Nikitscher and András Schafer in the centre and Zsolt Nagy on the left behind wide forwards Roland Sallai and Dominik Szoboszlai and central striker Barnabás Varga, mlsz.hu wrote.
Hungary were on the attack from the outset, but Sallai’s superb pass in the opening minute was rendered meaningless by the offside flag after he’d found Nego on the right corner of the six-yard box, then Schäfer drove the ball narrowly over the crossbar after Szoboszlai’s shot had been blocked. Moments later, just as a penalty was being awarded to the Netherlands for a Nikitscher handball, the game was stopped and lengthy treatment administered to Hungary’s assistant coach Ádám Szalai after he’d taken ill on the touchline.
The match was delayed by 14 minutes and on its resumption, striker Wout Weghorst put the home team ahead with a coolly-taken penalty straight down the middle of the goal. Hungary could have equalised almost immediately, but once left-winger Zsolt Nagy had crossed Nego’s left-footed, crossfield pass back across goal, Sallai could only head the ball within goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen’s grasp.
Ádám Szalai, “the heart of the team” got better
Dibusz then produced a fine finger-tip save to deny Tijjani Reijnders and more routine stops from Dumfries, Gakpo and Malen as Hungary battled to stay within sight of parity, but they succumbed again in the 11th minute of first-half added time, Zsolt Nagy’s foul on Malen in the Hungary penalty area handing Gakpo the chance to double his team’s lead from the spot, an opportunity he accepted with relish as sent Dibusz the wrong way and thumped his spotkick into the left side of the goal, halfway up.
Two-nil down at half-time was a daunting situation to be in for Hungary, especially as their fans no doubt remember with a shiver their last visit here in 2013 when the team lost 8-1, but the players battled on fearlessly, no doubt buoyed by news that their colleague Ádám Szalai’s condition had stabilised and he was being assessed in hospital.
Weghorst struck Hungary’s crossbar in the 50th minute with a sumptuous curling effort and Dibusz continued to impress in the Hungary goal as the Netherlands’ dominance continued, but a special strike in the 64th minute eventually extended the Euro 2024 semi-finalists’ lead, Dumfries’s thunderous volley giving Dibusz no chance. Youngst Levente Szabó entered the fray for his international debut on the hour mark before Dumfries then turned provider in the 86th minute, his cross headed into the Hungary net by substitute Teun Koopmeiners.
The latter almost doubled his goals tally in the match a minute later, only for his hooked shot to clip the crossbar on its way over, while at the other end, Willi Orbán also struck the crossbar in the remaining few minutes, as well as seeing an effort go wide of the target as Hungary sought a consolation goal. None was forthcoming though and thus the final score was set at 4-0.
This result ensures that Hungary will contest a Nations League play-off in March for the right to be in League A during the next edition of the Nations League in 2026, while the Netherlands will join group winners Germany in the quarter-final knockout stages of this current edition, the latter having set a Nations League record by defeating the group’s bottom team Bosnia 7-1 in the evening’s other match. Bosnia will be relegated to League B for next time. There’s still one round of group fixtures to play though, Hungary rounding off their campaign at home to Germany in Budapest’s Puskás Aréna on Tuesday evening.
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