Hungary vs England
Hungary’s maiden season in the UEFA Nations League top-flight begins at the famous Puskas Arena against Euro 2020 runners-up England.
The Hungarians have earned back-to-back promotions to climb from Group C up to Group A and will now look to avenge an embarrassing 4-0 H2H defeat at this stadium in September 2021. Hungary head into proceedings having lost just three of their 12 outings in the competition’s group stages, with five of their six triumphs yielding a clean sheet. Despite winning three of their last four matches (L1), the ‘Magyars’ have to defy their ‘England hoodoo’ to remain on this trajectory. Since the iconic 1962 World Cup, Hungary have gone winless in all 15 meetings with the ‘Three Lions,’ suffering a staggering 12 defeats in that period. They’ve lost all three previous H2Hs at home, conceding 3+ goals on each occasion.
On the other hand, England come into this encounter seeking a fifth successive victory after winning both international friendlies in March by an aggregate score of 5-1. Stationed in fifth in FIFA’s rankings, Gareth Southgate’s men are unbeaten within 90 minutes across their last 22 games since losing 2-0 to Belgium in the Nations League back in November 2020. Adding to England’s confidence, they’ve only lost four of their 12 Nations League group stage fixtures (W6, D2). With some of the Premier League’s finest forwards at Southgate’s disposal, it comes as no surprise the ‘Three Lions’ have netted 35 goals across their last nine matches (W7, D2). Indeed, they’ve bagged 2+ goals in the last four in a row, at an average of five per game.