A dramatic stoppage-time goal saw Hungary beat Scotland 1-0 at the European Championship on Sunday to wreck its opponent’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage of a major tournament for the first time in its history. Late substitute Kevin Csoboth scored his first international goal in the 10th minute of stoppage time to see Hungary secure third spot in Group A, behind first-place Germany and Switzerland.
Hungary now faces an anxious wait to see if its three points will be enough to reach the round of 16 at Euro 2024 as one of the four best third-place teams. It might not know until Wednesday when the final round of group games finishes.
Germany topped the group after a late goal saw it rescue a 1-1 draw against Switzerland.
Both sets of fans applauded when Varga was stretchered off
If Hungary does progress, it appears unlikely that forward Barnabás Varga will take part after a serious-looking injury. Varga collided with Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn midway through the second half and his teammates held up blankets to shield the player as he was tended to by medical staff, while everyone looked on in concern.
Both sets of fans applauded when Varga was stretchered off after a delay of around 10 minutes. Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai appeared to be in tears as he consoled his stricken teammate. Varga was immediately taken to hospital after the incident.
German broadcaster Magenta TV reported that Varga was conscious and talking when he arrived at the hospital in Stuttgart.
Hungary winger Roland Sallai dedicated 1-0 win over Scotland to Varga: “It was terrible. It was a terrible moment to see Barnabas like that,” said Sallai. “Fortunately he is in a much better condition. He is probably going to have to go for a minor operation. “We cross our fingers that he can return quickly. Naturally it was a terrible incident. Of course we were fighting for him in the remaining 15-20 minutes. We wanted to win for him and we dedicate the win to him.”
“The condition of Barnabas Varga is stable,” the Hungarian Football Federation wrote on X. “Several bones in Barnabás Varga’s face were broken during the collision during the match, and he also suffered a concussion,” the federation added, after the match.
“The Ferencváros striker is most likely to undergo surgery. He spends the night in the hospital in Stuttgart. The whole team is rooting for him!”
Scotland dominating possession, struggling to break Hungary down
Despite both teams needing the win in Stuttgart, chances were few and far between. Scotland was dominating possession but not doing much with it and struggling to break Hungary down.
But Hungary started to get a foothold in the match and almost took the lead four minutes from the break, when Willi Orbán’s header – from a clever Dominik Szoboszlai free kick – hit the crossbar.
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Szoboszlai almost scored himself with the final kick of the half but he couldn’t keep his shot down and it flew over the crossbar.
Scotland ended the half with 64% possession but no attempts on goal whatsoever. Hungary had five. Steve Clarke’s side finally had a shot in the 53rd but Ché Adams curled his effort way over the bar.
Csoboth was brought on in the 86th minute and he almost had an immediate impact as he hit the far post from a tight angle.
Both goalkeepers had to make saves in a chaotic 10 minutes of stoppage time before Csoboth snatched the win. Csoboth started the counterattack and, with Scotland outnumbered, picked out an unmarked Roland Sallai before sprinting into the area to receive the return pass and slot into the near corner, sparking wild celebrations among the Hungary players and fans.