Euro 2024 continues as Hungary face Switzerland in Group A looking to keep up with hosts Germany, who thrashed Scotland 5-1 in the tournament opener last night.
Both teams know they can strengthen their hopes of reaching the last-16 with a victory in Cologne. Hungary, who are led by Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, went unbeaten in qualifying for the Euros and have enjoyed victories over England and Germany over the last couple of years. Marco Rossi’s side are seen as dark horses by some.
Switzerland, meanwhile, have a strong recent record at major tournaments and reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 three years ago after stunning favourites France on penalties. Granit Xhaka, fresh off helping Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title, is Switzerland’s leader and will hope to inspire another run at the Euros.
Group A opponents Scotland will be hoping both teams drop points in Cologne after their tournament got off to the worst possible start in Munich. Steve Clarke’s side face Switzerland on Wednesday and then Hungary next Sunday.
Follow all the latest from Hungary vs Switzerland in our live blog, below
Euro 2024: Dominik Szoboszlai tipped to shine despite reduced role at Liverpool in closing stages of season
“If I have to say the truth knowing Dominik I don’t think he will arrive depressed,” manager Marco Rossi told M4 Sport in Hungary. “I think that he’s thinking that in the time that he’s not spending on the pitch with Liverpool will give him more power and more freshness for our matches. I hope for this.
“But I think that he’s already focused on what he would like to do and he will do [at the Euros] because in this moment, yesterday [against Aston Villa] he played 20 minutes so it was just a warm up for him. Probably the next match will be the same.
“He’s already focused on the European Championship. He will arrive fresh and this is good overall for us. I think also that he will not suffer under the psychological aspect of this situation.”
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:52
Euro 2024: Granit Xhaka plays down reports of split in Switzerland camp
Granit Xhaka plans to spend a long time at Euro 2024 with Switzerland, but had to play down reports of a rift with head coach Murat Yakin ahead of Saturday’s Group A opener with Hungary.
Former Arsenal captain Xhaka enjoyed a remarkable season with Bayer Leverkusen after they won a domestic double and now turns his focus to international football.
Switzerland take on Hungary in Cologne, but Xhaka was asked to cast his mind back to September when he was critical of the team’s preparation before a 2-2 draw with Kosovo.
Xhaka told a press conference: “We are glad to have a coach who listens to us and who wants to talk to us. We have never had problems. We are adult enough to clarify everything. I have a great relationship with the coach.
“The last six or eight months, he came to see me many times. We met in Dusseldorf, we had dinner together and drank a lot of wine together. Everything is going fine. We are both ambition and we want to be successful.
“Those who know me, know I don’t like to talk about ifs, buts and hypothesis. I packed my luggage to spend here a lot of time.”
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:44
Euro 2024: Hungary vs Switzerland
“Let’s see this time what happens,” Hungary boss Marco Rossi said. “We qualified not by chance but because we deserve to and we’re here and we would like to be the protagonist.
“We would like to give joy and happiness to our supporters.”
While Hungary midfielder Bendeguz Bolla adds: “I feel we’ve prepared perfectly for tomorrow’s game. We have no reasons to fear.”
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:37
Granit Xhaka on Hungary test at Euro 2024
“We have clear aims and we want to achieve them, but tomorrow is the first game, the first aim,” Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka says.
“We want to give our best and hopefully get the three points.”
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:30
Euro 2024: Hungary vs Switzerland
- It’s 70 years since Switzerland hosted the World Cup and Hungary lost to West Germany in the final. That loss marked the end of an era when Hungary‘s “Magic Magyars” were one of the world’s best teams.
- It’s 43 years since Hungary beat Switzerland in a competitive game. Their last meeting was a 5-2 win for Switzerland in World Cup qualifying in 2017.
- Opening games have been a problem for both teams at the Euros. Switzerland has one win from five, against Albania in 2016. Hungary has one win from four, though two of its opening games were also semifinals because only four teams qualified for the tournament in 1964 and 1972.
- Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka can play his 126th game for his country, extending the team record. Vice-captain Shaqiri is close behind on 123 games.
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:22
Hungary vs Switzerland: Starting line-ups
Switzerland XI: Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez; Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Ndoye; Duah, Aebischer, Vargas
Hungary XI: Gulácsi; Lang, Orbán, Szalai; Fiola, Ádám Nagy, Schäfer, Kerkez; Sallai, Szoboszlai; Varga
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:01
Andy Robertson explains how Scotland ‘got it all wrong’ in Germany thrashing
As the build to Hungary vs Switzerland continues, let’s take another look at last night’s Group A opener (sorry, Scotland fans).
Here’s what Scottish captain Andy Robertson had to say about his side’s thrashing by Germany, and what specifically went wrong against the hosts:
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 13:00
Euro 2024 kits: Every home and away shirt ranked and rated
Euro 2024 is nearly upon us and with it comes a sartorial smorgasbord for us to enjoy, or be deeply offended by.
What have Croatia done this time? Have England pulled off a genuine gem? Why are Belgium wearing brown shorts? And which kit has won our highly coveted top spot?
Nike, Adidas, Puma, Macron, Joma and the good people at Hummel have dropped their designs so, without further ado, let’s get stuck in.
Ranked from the visually upsetting to the optically arousing, here is our list of Euro 2024 kits.
Jack Rathborn15 June 2024 12:54