MY ACCOUNT
A Dominik Szoboszlai penalty ended England’s record 22-game unbeaten run as Gareth Southgate’s side suffered a 1-0 loss to Hungary in their Nations League opener.
The Three Lions had not lost since 2020 outside of penalty shoot-outs – their best ever sequence – but left Budapest empty-handed in their first competitive match of a World Cup year.
The decisive goal came from the spot after substitute Reece James was penalised for a trailing arm on Zsolt Nagy in the box, allowing Szoboszlai to score 24 minutes from time and earn Hungary’s first win against England since 1962.
It was a result welcomed by around 35,000 fans in a behind-closed-doors match, as children were allowed to attend in line with UEFA sanctions despite a stadium ban for racist behaviour at Euro 2020.
And there were audible boos from those in attendance as England took the knee ahead of kick-off, back in Budapest where their players were the subject of abuse last year.
That was the most notable incident for a long time in a drab encounter, although Hungary came closest in the first half when Conor Coady was forced to clear Szoboszlai’s low effort off the line.
England showed little improvement after half-time, despite one strong run and shot from Bukayo Saka, and they were punished as James conceded the penalty and Hungary netted from the spot.
The impetus to rescue a result belatedly fired the visitors into action, with Jude Bellingham seeing a close-range effort blocked and Coady dragging a header just wide.
But the Three Lions’ pursuit of an equaliser proved to be in vain, and Hungary held on for a famous victory.
