Hungary and France drew 1-1 in Group F of the European Championship in Budapest today. The French were never close to stealing the three points in the final section.
The French came into the game after a 1-0 victory over the Germans in the first game, but the Hungarians had lost 3-0 to Portugal in the first game. The Hungarians came into the game strongly and bit off in the beginning, but the French slowly took over.
The French had a lot of ball while the Hungarians lay deep on the field and tried their best to counterattack, which did not go well. Kylian Mbappé did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans.
With 30 minutes played, Hungarians could have brought this one home for Attila Fiola as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high.
Huge cheers broke out on the tasteful Puskas stadium, where 60,000 Hungarians went crazy with joy. The Hungarians led unexpectedly, 1-0, at halftime.
The mood did not diminish in the second half as the Hungarians on the pitch shouted their team on. The Hungarians continued to be steady and also managed to hold the ball better at the beginning of the half than in the first half.
Didier Deschamps saw that change was needed and put Ousmane Dembele in for Adrien Rabiot when almost a quarter of the second half had passed. Dembéle came in strong and had a thunderous shot on goal just two minutes later.
With 65 minutes played, the Hungarians coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. The French won the ball, went up quickly, where Kylian Mbappe picked up on the tee, passed the ball, and found Antoine Griezmann who passed the ball into the net and leveled the game for the French. Until then, there was little indication that the French would equalize.
The same story was after the goal. The French managed to create a chance where their attacking play was slow and predictable, but nothing should be taken away from the great defensive performance of the Hungarians who earned one point. 1-1 draw result of the match.
The Hungarians then have one point in the group after two games and will face Germany in their locale. The French have four points and face Portugal at the same time.
Portugal and Germany meet in the group now at 16:00 and that game will be live.
