By Matt Hoffman
ÁÁFRAAAAM ÍÍSLAAAND!!!
Kedves egészségére Magyarország!
We warned in our preview piece Group F had a certain element of unpredictability but even we were surprised to find Hungary top of the board with three points.
| Pos | Nation | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hungary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. | Iceland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3. | Portugal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4. | Austria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
It was billed by many as a coming out match for Austria. Austria started off strongly only to be upstaged by sibling Hungary in a decisive 2-0 win for the Magyars in a riveting, record-breaking match.
40-year-old Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kirely became the oldest man to ever play in the Euros recording a clean-sheet in his first ever appearance in the tournament. On the other side of the ball, fantastic strikes by Adam Szalai and Zoltan Stieber stunned Austria, the 10th best team in the world by FIFA rankings.
Considering that Hungary had not scored a goal in the European Championship since 1972, Hungary’s win very well may be the biggest upset of the millennium.
The outcome was not at all indicative of the start. Austria looked crisp and very nearly took the lead in the 2nd minute but David Alaba’s strike hit the post.
Hungary would recover and soon dominate with a goal coming from an unlikely source. Forward Adam Szalai had zero goals in his nearly 50 matches between his country and his current club (Hannover). That all changed today as Szalai’s strike gave Hungary the improbable lead in the 62nd minute.
Austria pushed hard to find the equalizer and it appeared that they had in the 68th minute when Martin Hinteregger of Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Kirely. Midfielder Aleksandar Dragović hit Tamas Kada with his studs in the Hungarian penalty area. The goal would not stand and, already standing on a yellow, Dragović was removed from the match.
Both down a goal and a man, Austria could muster no magic. Ultimately the pushing forward played right into Hungary’s hands as Stieber finished a team goal that caricatured the perfect counter-attack.
With the win, Hungary go to the top of the table and remained there as Portugal was unable to beat Iceland, drawing 1-1 with the Land of Bjork, Failing Banks and Distressed Lawyers.
Portugal is a safe pick for a top five finish in the 2016 tournament. Or at least they were.
Portugal got the goal but didn’t put away enough chances and played defense like disinterested children. That’s not a recipe for success. As a result of what can plainly be seen as pedestrian defense, the ball fell to a completely unmarked Birkir Bjarnason who simply could not miss.
It was one of three shots that Iceland had, but it was enough to grab Iceland the point and annul, at least momentarily, Portugal’s ambitions.
With Hungary set to take on Iceland next, that match has vaulted from meaningless participation badge to a match with large implications relegating Portugal/Austria to the status of which team can rediscover the plot first to rekindle that optimism that both sides eagerly burnished mere hours ago.
