Germany aims to stay hot against Hungary at UEFA Euro 2024 on TSN
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Germany got off to a flying start on home soil at UEFA Euro 2024, and they will look to keep that going in their second game as they face Hungary, who will be looking for their first win of the tournament.
The hosts wasted little time with formalities in their 5-1, opening-match victory over Scotland in Munich.
Florian Wirtz found the net for Germany in the 10th minute and in the process, the 21-year-old became the country’s youngest scorer in European Championship history.
Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Füllkrug and Emre Can all scored for Germany in an emphatic victory that was aided by playing against 10 men for the entire second half.
“We all carry pressure on our shoulders,” Musiala said after the victory. “When we're on the pitch, working for each other, you don't feel the pressure. We won't let the win get to our heads and we want to do the same on Wednesday. We'll look back at this game, see what we can do better and what we need to keep."
Toni Kroos, who will be retiring from the sport at the conclusion of the tournament, was one of the key men controlling the game for Germany.
"We've taken our first step, and we'll look to build on that,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. “We'll do what we can to win in Stuttgart.”
One of things they’ll have to do to collect all three points at Stuttgart Arena is defeat a team that has enjoyed success against them in recent matchups.
Hungary is unbeaten in their past three games against Germany, including a 1-0 victory in the 2022 UEFA Nations League, their most recent meeting.
They also held Germany to 2-2 draw when the teams met in Munich during UEFA Euro 2020.
This time out they will be trying to bounce back after dropping their opener 3-1 to Switzerland.
Barnabas Varga had the marker for Hungary in the 66th minute, but two first half goals and a late concession in stoppage time got them off to a losing start in Germany.
“As of today, this looks impossible. But we’ve already showed – in the previous Euro we lost 3-0 against Portugal and then we equalized with France and then we were six minutes away from qualification at the expense of Germany,” said Hungary coach Marco Rossi. “Germany today are a different team, they proved it (Friday) night against Scotland. I’m not saying it now because we lost and they won 5-1. I’ve said that in all interviews, in my opinion the German side is the biggest favourite of this European Championship.”
Despite Hungary’s recent success, Germany holds a slight edge in their all-time head-to-head matchup at 13-12-12.