Freiburg Sallai after Hungary's coup: "We want to go to the last sixteen"
Did you expect this kind of outcome? Did you remember to place your bets on Betting Sites? This would have been an awesome three-way bet experience, where you could have placed a bet for the match to end in a draw.
Ten minutes after the final whistle, national coach Marco Rossi's Hungarian players were on their well-deserved lap of honor. It went on in slow motion with still 29 degrees in the shade, the heated duel against the Equipe Tricolore had left its mark. After all: Captain Adam Szalai, who was replaced after half an hour because of the temperatures with circulatory problems, was there again. 15 minutes after the end of the game there was another wave with the fans. It was - who is surprised - really celebrated in the Puskas-Arena.
And there was also crying. In tears, goal scorer Attila Fiola, who had taken the lead for the hosts shortly before half-time, said he could see the entire career that was after the goal before him. The player described how life gave him something back. He said that with a view to his early, injury-related end at EM 2016 in France, which he had sustained against Austria, and as a result he was ruled out for a long period. The 31-year-old from Fehervar FC had duped the French left-back with Benjamin Pavard from Munich and Real Madrid's central defender Raphael Varane in the lead in a one-two with Roland Sallai from Freiburg.
"Today was such a day" - Rossi
Such a counterattack had been practiced, said Sallai, who was celebrated by the spectators in the stadium even half an hour after the end of the game. He thanked God for them being successful. He added how proud everyone was of themselves and the team and how they gave it their all, they gave the maximum. And, declared the attacker, not wrongly: "We deserve the one point." Although the self-sacrificing outsider benefited from the fact that favorite France simply left too many chances - and ultimately failed Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, who defused a great chance from Kylian Mbappé in the final phase.
National coach Rossi, like Fiola, then made the big bow: "When I arrived at the Hungarian training center in 2018, the atmosphere was like in a cemetery." At that time, according to the Italian, he had told to the boys that all their games should always be played with their hearts; and that today had been that kind of day.
The technical equipment has to suffer
The day before the game, the 56-year-old had been very aggressive and demanded "passion" for the performance in the foreseeable scorching heat of the Puskas Arena on a midsummer day (over 30 degrees Celsius) with kick-off at 3 pm. "Men" were needed, the Italian - quite a bit overtook by the tonality in these times - had suggested. It was almost symbolic on Saturday that a free-kick from Mbappé was blocked with ahead in the first half just seconds after the substitution of Mainz's Szalai. Attila Szalai fell to the ground but got up again - and with him the team that was under constant pressure at the time. What followed in stoppage time in the first half was the lead out of nowhere - with the first real chance, which should remain the only one for the Hungarians in the entire game.
The Puskas-Arena shook, with the cheering the euphoric goalscorer Fiola tore away the technical equipment of the field moderator who was placed behind the sideline at a desk. Everything flew, especially Fiola, the fans - and of course the aerosols. Masks that UEFA recommends but does not require to be worn in the stadium were rarely seen in the arena, or at least they were not in use.
In any case, it was enough for outsiders Hungary in the end to win points and the hope of a coup in the final group game against Germany on Wednesday in Munich (9 p.m., LIVE! At kicker). Antoine Griezmann's goal after an hour could hardly dampen the mood. "We want to go to the last sixteen," emphasized Bundesliga professional Sallai. Then it was over in the arena, so no more chants. From 6 p.m. the arena was empty - the showdown is nowhere on Wednesday at 9 p.m. between France and Portugal, world champions against European champions - not bad either.