Dominik Szoboszlai fired in a 66th minute penalty winner as Hungary beat England 1-0 at Puskas Arena in their opening UEFA Nations League match.
Following a scrappy opening 63 minutes in warm temperatures, England substitute, Reece James fouled Zsolt Nagy inside his own penalty box which led to a softly conceded penalty.
Szoboszlai stepped up and fired the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner which proved enough for an eventual victory, which put the Magyars top of Group 3 in League A ahead of Italy’s clash against Germany later on Saturday evening.
Defeat meanwhile meant that England’s goal-scoring run across their last 14 matches in all competitions is now over, having last failed to score in a goalless draw against Scotland in last summer’s Euros.
In front of circa 40,000 fans mainly made up of children under the age of 14 due to a stadium ban following racist abuse on England’s last visit to Budapest in September 2021, Hungary quickly settled into a deep-pressing counter-attacking style.
That decision nearly paid off in the third minute as Roland Sallai saw a third-minute shot saved by Jordan Pickford.
England however immediately responded by increasing their attacking pressure as debutant, Jarrod Bowen saw various chances blocked in the first-half, with Bowen’s best effort coming in the 11th minute as he bicycle-kicked Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross onto goal but Peter Gulacsi saved his shot.
Zsolt Nagy was next to trouble England’s defence for Hungary but he volleyed over in the 16th minute from Loic Nego’s cross.
Hungary proceeded to soak up England pressure as they played out from the back which saw them launch a 29th minute counter-attack, in which Szoboszlai unleashed Nagy to shoot upon goal only for Pickford to punch the ball away for an eventually cleared corner.
Adam Szalai three minutes later attempted an audacious near 50-yard shot towards the top left corner but his effort dipped just too early beyond Pickford and bounced wide.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions immediately tried to take the lead just one minute later as Bowen raced up the right and cut into the box, as he attempted to tee up Kane to roll the ball into the net but Adam Lang was alert to intercept and clear the pass away from goal.
Neither team eventually failed to find a breakthrough before half-time as Hungary continued to press hard and frustrate England.
Southgate consequently opted to make a half-time change as James Justin was substituted on his first senior appearance, with Bukayo Saka coming on to replace the Leicester fullback.
Hungary however started the second-half on the front-foot as Sallai delivered a knockdown header for Nagy, who only managed to drag his shot wide of the bottom right corner.
The hosts however continued to press and pegged England back for much of the opening 13 minutes of the second-half, until Lang blocked Mason Mount’s 58th minute cross which led to a corner clearance being fired wide by Bowen.
Southgate then rang the changes with James, John Stones and Jack Grealish all coming on in the 62nd minute, yet it was James who made the immediate impact as he clipped Nagy inside his own box with the latter going to ground.
Referee – Artur Manuel Soares Dias consequently chose to award a controversial penalty against James, as Szoboszlai converted the 66th minute spot-kick into the bottom-left corner despite Pickford diving correctly to his right side.
Bowen six minutes latched onto a long ball but his left-footed volleyed shot was straight into Gulacsi’s arms, whilst Coady then headed a 77th minute free-kick wide across goal as England desperately chased an equalising goal.
In the end, Hungary clung on to end their 15-match winless run against England in all competitions which sent them top of Group 3 in Nations League A, until Italy play Germany later on Saturday evening.
Southgate post-match spoke to Channel 4 where he admitted that his team “did not do enough to win the game,” and felt if not for the “harsh” penalty decision that a draw would of been a “fair outcome.”
The 51 year-old boss also noted the impact that this long season has had on his players as he continued: “It has been a long season. The heat was a factor and took a lot out of the players and we tried to refresh the team earlier than normal.
“The balance of finding out about new things and the consistency of the regular team, I have to look at whether I got that right.
“I don’t want to be too harsh on them, these are games we need to learn from. They are bitterly disappointed because we want to keep winning matches. If we want to be a team right at the top tier of football, we need to come here and win.”
England are next in action on Tuesday 7 June as they visit Germany in a 7:45pm BST kick-off in their second Nations League fixture, which is followed by home matches against Italy and Hungary on 11 and 14 June.
Teams
Hungary: Peter Gulacsi, Adam Lang, Willi Orban, Attila Szalai, Loic Nego, Andras Schafer, Adam Nagy (Styles 82′), Zsolt Nagy (Vecsei 88′), Roland Sallai (Kleinheisler 71′), Dominik Szoboszlai (Fiola 82′), Adam Szalai (Adam 88′)
Substitutes: Akos Kecskes, Attila Fiola, Daniel Sallói, Denes Dibusz, Bendeguz Bolla, Laszlo Kleinheisler, Zalan Vancsa, Callum Styles, Martin Adam, Csaba Spandler, Peter Szappanos, Balint Vecsei
England: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker (Stones 62′), Connor Coady, Harry Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold (James 62′), Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, James Justin (Saka 45′), Jarrod Bowen, Harry Kane, Mason Mount (Grealish 62′)
Substitutes: Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, John Stones, Reece James, Jack Grealish, James Ward-Prowse, Conor Gallagher, Kalvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, Tammy Abraham
Referee: Artur Manuel Soares Dias
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