When is it? How can you watch it? What are the starting line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA EURO 2024 Group A match between Hungary and Switzerland.
Hungary and Switzerland meet in their first match of UEFA EURO 2024 in Group A on Saturday 15 June.
Hungary vs Switzerland at a glance
When: Saturday 15 June (15:00 CET kick-off) (10:00 Suriname time)
Where: Cologne Stadium
What: UEFA EURO 2024 Group A Matchday 1
What do you need to know?
It has been 86 years since these teams last met at a major tournament, Hungary winning 2-0 at the 1938 World Cup. However, recent encounters have favoured Switzerland: the Swiss have won six of their last nine games against Hungary, though these countries have not faced off since the European Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup when Switzerland prevailed 5-3 at home and 3-2 away.
Featuring at their third straight EURO, Hungary are a growing force in European football, Italian coach Marco Rossi benefiting from the class of 23-year-old captain Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield and the steady presence of Leipzig’s Péter Gulácsi in goal. Murat Yakin’s Switzerland, meanwhile, can call on Granit Xhaka – fresh from an exceptional season with Leverkusen – in midfield, with Xherdan Shaqiri still a menace. The 32-year-old has scored (nine) or set up (four) 46% of Switzerland’s 28 final-tournament goals since the 2014 World Cup.
Starting line-ups
Hungary: Gulácsi; Lang, Orbán, Szalai; Fiola, Ádám Nagy, Schäfer, Kerkez; Sallai, Szoboszlai; Varga
Switzerland: Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez; Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Ndoye; Aebischer, Vargas; Duah
Form guide
Hungary
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLWWWD
Switzerland
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DWWDLD
Expert predictions
Andy Clark, Hungary reporter
Unbeaten in qualification, Hungary’s last EURO defeat came against Portugal at EURO 2020. Then, Hungary were primarily focused on being hard to break down. Nowadays, while still defensively compact, Rossi’s side possess substantial attacking flair, so they’ll be looking to give the Switzerland defence plenty of food for thought. If the attack-minded Sallai, Szoboszlai and Varga are on song, Hungary will be confident of getting off to a good start.
Anna-Sophia Vollmerhausen, Switzerland reporter
After recording their best-ever EURO finish three years ago, reaching the last eight, Switzerland are back and hoping for a repeat (or better). A strong start will be crucial, and captain Granit Xhaka is confident the Nati have the experience and quality to do just that. However, with striker Breel Embolo only just back to full fitness, all eyes will be on who can provide the all-important threat on goal for the Swiss side.
What the coaches say
Marco Rossi, Hungary coach: “Switzerland have achieved remarkable results under Murat Yakin. They’ve got top players all across the team, who play in great leagues or for top teams. In terms of quality, they’re better than us and we expect them to play modern football. What’s more, they’ve qualified for recent EUROs and recent World Cups, so they’re definitely a team to be wary of. But we are not afraid of challenges, we are confident and know that we have a chance to win against any opponent.”
Murat Yakin, Switzerland coach: “Hungary are a very strong side. We will have a very hard game. What’s important for us is to use our very strong points, and we hope to play a ‘surprising’ match in terms of our football. We will try to challenge them and come out as winners. But it requires us to be lucky and to perform well on the day. We have to play our game that we have worked on. We’ll be challenged in this game; we need to get the most out of it.”
uefa.com
Featured images : Uefa.com
