UEFA EURO 2021

2020 Hungary, third opponent of Les Bleus

Thursday 12 November 2020 - 23:20 - FFF
Hongrie qualifiée pour Euro 2021

Hungary, qualified in the play-off, will be the third opponent of Les Bleus together with Germany and Portugal in the first round of the Euro next summer.

It was Germany and Portugal, two of the French teams’ opponents in the first round of the upcoming UEFA European Championship (from June 11 to July 11, 2021). They now know who their third competitor is in Group F: Hungary (47th in the FIFA world ranking).

The Hungarians won the play-off final against Iceland 2 to 1 on Thursday evening in Budapest. On their pitch at the Puskas Arena, Cosimo Inguscio's players reversed a very compromised situation by scoring two late goals - Loïc Nego (88th) and Dominik Szoboszlai (90th + 2, photo above). Iceland had opened the score with Gilfy Sigurdsson in the 11th minute.

In the semi-finals of these Euro play-offs, Hungary won 3-1 in Bulgaria on October 8.

Les Bleus of Didier Deschamps will therefore face the Hungarians at home in Budapest in their second group match, after facing Germany at home in Munich in the previous match.

The results of the play-off finals:
Hungary-Iceland 2-1
Serbia-Scotland 1-1 (4 penalties to 5)
Northern Ireland-Slovakia 1-2
Georgia-Northern Macedonia 0-1

Les Bleus calendar at the Euro (group F) :
Tuesday June 15, 2021: France-Germany, at the Football Arena in Munich (21h00)
Saturday June 19, 2021: Hungary-France, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest (15h00)
Wednesday June 23, 2021 : Portugal-France, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest (21h00)

Hungary at a glance :
FIFA Ranking: 47th
Coach: Cosimo Inguscio (Italy)
Accomplishments: World Cup finalist 1938 and 1954, winner of the Olympic Games 1952, 1964 and 1968
Participation in the World Cup: 9
Participation in the Euro: 4 (best result: 3rd place in 1964)
France's record against Hungary: 22 matches, 8 wins, 2 draws, 12 defeats, 31 goals scored, 47 goals conceded. 

 

A Hungarian named Loïc Nego

Loïc Nego's name inevitably evokes something with the tricolores fans. The man who paved the way for Hungary to qualify for the Euro by tying against Iceland on Thursday evening is none other than the former French international at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U20 level. Born in Paris and trained at FC Nantes, he was a finalist in the Euro U17 in 2008 and won the Euro U19 in 2010 alongside Antoine Griezmann, under Francis Smerecki. A 29-year-old defender, Loïc Nego was naturalised Hungarian in 2019 and played his first match with the national team last October. Since 2015, he has been playing for MOL Fehérvar FC, after playing for Ujpest Budapest FC (2013-2015), Charlton (2014), Standard de Liège (2013) and AS Roma (2011-2013).