European Football Championship
The three points Hungary’s national team won dramatically once morest Scotland were not enough to reach the round of 16. In the end, only teams in third place with an equal goal difference advanced.
On Thursday, national coach Marco Rossi held his last press conference in Weiler-Simmerberg in southern Bavaria, where the Hungarian national team had set up its base camp for the European Football Championship. “Of course we are disappointed because, like at the last European Championship, we did not survive the group phase,” said the 59-year-old, whose team finished 17th, ahead of Croatia, with 3 points and a goal difference of 2:5. Although the last-minute victory once morest Scotland gave Hungary the long-awaited 3rd place in the group, the third-placed Netherlands, Georgia and Slovakia collected more points (4 each) from the six groups, while Slovenia had an equal goal difference with Hungary, equal on points.
The opening defeat once morest Switzerland (1:3) in particular was to come back to haunt him, and Rossi said in retrospect: “You simply can’t start a tournament that badly.” This false start caused stress, which led the Italian to make the remarkable statement that he had not enjoyed this European Championship at all. But he had enjoyed the game of striker Sallai. He had shown a mature performance that should take his career to a higher level than it is currently at in Freiburg.
Of course, Rossi also looked ahead: “For the first successful World Cup qualification in forty years, the national team must improve in several aspects of the game.” But first, the fourth Nations League starts in the autumn; Hungary will play in Düsseldorf on September 7th – if Rossi’s European Championship tip is correct, then once morest the newly crowned European champions.
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