Swiss make easy work of Hungary in Euro 2024

Switzerland held off a Hungarian fightback to win its European Championship opening game 3-1 on Saturday.

Goals from Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer – both surprise picks in the starting line-up – left Switzerland in control at half-time but Barnabas Varga’s header put Hungary back in contention.

Breel Embolo made sure of the win when he scored on the counter-attack in stoppage time with a lob over the goalkeeper.

Earlier, Duah opened the scoring in just his second game for Switzerland, shooting low past goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi off a pass from Aebischer.

Aebischer made it 2-0 just before half-time, sidestepping away from Attila Fiola to find space on the edge of the box to hit a curling low shot past Gulacsi.

Varga’s diving header in the 66th off Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross brought celebrations for Hungary as some of its black T-shirt-wearing hardcore fans lit flares. Hungary kept Switzerland under pressure after that but couldn’t find a second goal.

Switzerland is second in Group A after host nation Germany beat Scotland 5-1 on Friday in the tournament opener. Hungary had its first loss in a competitive game since September 2022.

Hungary vs Switzerland: As it happened . . .

04:00 PM BST

Delightful dink from Embolo decides the game.

03:56 PM BST

Full time: Hungary 1 Switzerland 3

Switzerland have got their much-deserved win, but not without being given a scare in the second half.

03:52 PM BST

GOAL! 94 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 3 (Embolo 94’)

Game over, and Embolo is back among the goals.

Sommer launches a ball from his hands well into the final third, and Hungary make a mess of it.

A miscued headed clearance puts the ball on a plate for Embolo, whose delightful dink sends the ball over Gulácsi into the net.

03:51 PM BST

90 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

Five added minutes here, and Switzerland come close to killing this match.

Embolo leads a counter attack and threads a ball into substitute Rieder, who rounds the keeper but overhits the ball and cannot retrieve the ball to get a proper shot on goal.

03:48 PM BST

89 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

The ball is now in Hungary’s half, as Switzerland win a series of fouls high up the pitch.

They have a corner, and Xhaka’s header deflects off Szoboszlai and forces Gulácsi to make a sharp reflex save at his near post.

03:44 PM BST

85 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

Switzerland gain a much-needed breather to disrupt the flow of this game, as the ball is played off while Ndoye lays injured on the ground before he is shortly removed from the action, replaced by Vincent Sierro.

03:41 PM BST

82 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

Hungary are knocking on the door louder and louder, in search of their equaliser.

A pair of promising crosses are headed away by Switzerland’s defenders, but not before a delightful netmeg on the left hand side from a Hungary winger. The pressure is building.

03:39 PM BST

80 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

We’re now heading into the last 10 minutes of this match.

Switzerland looked to be in cruise control for so long, but it is game on.

03:35 PM BST

Varga header gives Hungary hope

03:34 PM BST

75 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

Swiss forward Breel Embolo is now on, replacing Vargas.

Embolo has not long recovered from an ACL injury he suffered last August in training for Monaco.

The 27-year-old has looked lively since coming off the bench.

03:31 PM BST

73 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

Xhaka plays a lovely ball down the left channel, which Ndoye runs onto, before cutting in and firing a shot that deflects over the bar for a corner.

Then, from the resulting corner, Fabian Schar heads narrowly wide.

Moments later, Swiss keeper Yann Sommer is needed to clutch a low cross that looked destined to find an onrushing Varga.

03:23 PM BST

GOAL! - 66 minutes: Hungary 1 Switzerland 2

And there is life in this match!

A sumptuous cross from the left hand side by Szoboszlai floats to the back post, where Varga is on hand to atone for his earlier miss, stooping low to head past Sommer to grab a goal back for Hungary.

03:23 PM BST

63 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Massive chance missed by Hungary.

An excellent cross from the left finds forward Barnabas Varga free in the box, but his header does not trouble the keeper in the slightest, going wide of the Swiss goal.

03:14 PM BST

57 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Hungary now have a corner after Szoboszlai’s free kick is headed away.

But as quickly as they earn the corner, they duly concede possession cheaply for a Switzerland throw-in.

Szoboszlai is cutting a visibly frustrated figure, much like the manner of a displeased Bruno Fernandes.

03:14 PM BST

54 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Switzerland create another excellent chance through some sharp, intricate passing on the left hand side.

Xhaka fizzes the ball into Vargas, whose shot is promptly smothered by the midriff of Gulácsi.

03:10 PM BST

51 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Roman Sallai makes a darting run behind the Swizerland defence, is found with a long searching ball, tees up Szoboszlai at the edge of the box... But the Hungary captain drags his shot well wide of the goal, before his blushes are spared at the sight of the offside flag.

03:06 PM BST

48 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Switzerland have picked up from where they left off in the first half.

Another well-worked move sets up Ndoye for a shot in the box, but his shot is palmed away by Gulácsi for a corner.

03:03 PM BST

46 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

The second half has just started, and Hungary have made a change.

Ádám Lang has made way for Bendegúz Bolla.

03:02 PM BST

Granit Xhaka’s first half in numbers.

The 31-year-old Switzerland captain was imperious in the first half.

• He had the most touches of any player on the pitch. (55)

• He completed the most passes of any other player. (48)

• And he made the most passes into the final third. (12)

If Xhaka continues this tremendous display after the break, things could get real ugly for Hungary. Just ask Scotland.

02:53 PM BST

Aebischer howitzer!

02:51 PM BST

Half-time: Hungary 0 Switzerland 2

Switzerland head into the break 2-0 in front, and it is no less than they deserve.

They have been much more superior than Hungary, who must be glad to hear that half time whistle.

02:46 PM BST

GOAL! Hungary 0 Switzerland 2! Aebischer (45’)

Beautiful goal from Switzerland to double their lead.

Aebischer, who supplied Duah for Switzerland’s first, curls in a wonderful goal from about 25 yards past the despairing dive of Gulácsi.

02:42 PM BST

40 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 1

Hungary have missed a huge chance to equalise, albeit against the run of play.

Szoboszlai’s teasing cross from a free kick is met by the head of Willi Orban, but the defender can only produce a tame header that bounces into the hands of a grateful Yann Sommer.

02:39 PM BST

37 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 1

Granit Xhaka has been masterful so far. He plays a lovely ball down the right channel for teammate Ndoye to run onto.

Ndoye then deftly knocks the ball past a defender on the touchline, but cannot find a Swiss player with his low ball across the box.

02:35 PM BST

Duah delight for Switzerland!

02:32 PM BST

30 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 1

Hungary have been comfortably second best in this match, but have now managed to gain ground and earn a corner...

Only for Szoboszlai to overhit his delivery before they then concede a foul seconds later.

02:27 PM BST

26 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 1

Switzerland are controlling the tempo in this match, calmly retaining the ball under the auspices of Xhaka, dictating play in the midfield.

Whatever Toni Kroos can do...

02:20 PM BST

20 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 1

Hungary are rocking here, and Switzerland should be 2-0 up.

Kerkez’s woeful backpass is pounced upon by Switzerland’s Vargas, who goes one on one with Gulácsi, but the forward’s effort is fired into the shoulder of the Hungary number one, and bounces away for a Swiss corner.

02:14 PM BST

GOAL! Hungary 0 Switzerland 1 - Duah (13’)

The goal is given!

1-0 to Switzerland, and it is a brilliantly worked goal.

Duah, who has looked bright in this match, bursts in behind the Hungary back line with a well-timed run, after a delightful through ball by Aebischer into his path, before the 27 year old coolly slots the ball past Gulácsi to give his team the lead.

02:13 PM BST

12 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 0

Switzerland have the ball in the back of the net. Offside is given, but Var is having a look.

02:11 PM BST

9 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 0

Hungary have had their first significant effort in this encounter, with full back Fiola flying down the right hand side, laying the ball across the edge of the box to Roman Sallai, who can only blaze the ball high over the bar.

02:07 PM BST

4 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 0

Swiss full back Silvan Widmer receives a yellow card for a robust but late tackle on opposing full back Milos Kerkez.

02:05 PM BST

2 minutes: Hungary 0 Switzerland 0

Switzerland pose an early threat, with forward Kwadwo Duah bursting down the left hand side and creating an opening for his side, but the chance breaks down with offside eventually given after Granit Xhaka’s run into the box.

02:01 PM BST

Kick off!

And we are live.

01:55 PM BST

Both teams are out of the tunnel.

Both teams are walking out onto the pitch, as kick off nears in Cologne.

The national anthems are now ringing out in the ground, starting with Switzerland’s.

01:45 PM BST

The managers in rather different moods.

01:34 PM BST

Some stats for whet your appetite...

• The only previous major tournament meeting between Hungary and Switzerland was in the 1938 World Cup quarter-finals. Hungary won 2-0.

• Adam Nagy, Laszlo Kleinheisler and Attila Fiola can become the first players to play for Hungary in three European Championships.

• The only two teams to reach the knockout phase in each of the past five major tournaments (World Cup/Euros) are Switzerland and France.

• Xherdan Shaqiri (9) is Switzerland’s leading major tournament (World Cup/Euros) goalscorer. Of players at Euro 2024, seven have reached double figures in World Cup/Euros goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Harry Kane (12), Kylian Mbappe (12), Antoine Griezmann (11), Romelu Lukaku (11), Thomas Müller (10) and Ivan Perisic (10).

01:29 PM BST

Telegraph match predictor

Reckon you already know what the final score for this match will be?

Go on and make a prediction above using the Telegraph’s match predictor.

01:18 PM BST

Midfield generals on both sides.

Any hopes either country harbour of gaining a win this afternoon will surely rest on the shoulders of their respective captains.

Hungary boast Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield, with the 23-year-old recovering from an injury scare to start this afternoon. He becomes the youngest ever captain of a team in European Championship history.

Meanwhile, Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, enters this tournament on the back of a sensational season for Bayer Leverkusen, capturing the German league and cup double, as part of an unbeaten domestic season.

01:06 PM BST

Here are the line-ups.

Hungary XI:
Gulácsi; Lang, Orbán, Szalai; Fiola, Nagy, Schäfer, Kerkez; Sallai, Szoboszlai (c), Varga.
Subs: Dibusz, Szappanos, Balogh, Nego, Adam, Bolla, Kleinheisler, Gazdag, Styles, Nagy, Botka, Csoboth, Dardai, Horvath, Kata.

Switzerland XI:
Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez; Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka (c), Ndoye; Duah, Aebischer, Vargas.
Subs: Mvogo, Kobel, Stergiou, Elvedi, Embolo, Okafor, Steffen, Zesiger, Sierro, Shaqiri, Jashari, Amdouni, Rieder.

12:57 PM BST

Fancy a flutter?

Betting on Euro 2024? Take a look at these Euro 2024 free bets and betting offers:

12:49 PM BST

Round Two of Euro 2024 is almost ready...

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the second match of Euro 2024, as Hungary take on Switzerland in Cologne.

Yesterday evening saw the 17th edition of this tournament commence with host nation Germany’s impressive 5-1 thrashing of Scotland.

Now it is the turn of Group A’s two other teams, Hungary and Switzerland to get their campaigns underway, and both teams enter this tournament on opposite ends of the spectrum form-wise.

Hungary, ranked 26th in the world, qualified for Euro 2024 in excellent fashion, topping their group ahead of Serbia without losing a single game, and were unbeaten throughout the calendar year of 2023.

This will be their third successive European Championship campaign, after failing to qualify for any major tournaments between 1986 and 2016.

And Hungary have proved more than capable of landing heavy blows against opponents in their recent showings, reaching the last 16 at Euro 2016, and taking a point from both France and Germany at Euro 2020, albeit finishing bottom of the ‘Group of Death’.

And with Scotland suffering a heavy defeat yesterday, Hungary, captained by fit-again Liverpool midfielder Dominic Szoboszlai may have received extra motivation to gain a victory today that could prove crucial to advancing to the knockout stages once again.

Meanwhile, Switzerland have not entered this tournament in the best of spirits, having won only one of their final seven qualifying matches, which earned them second place in their group, two points ahead of Israel.

This treacherous run of form increased the scrutiny on manager Murat Yakin, but Swiss FA president Dominique Blanc’s vote of confidence ensured Switzerland were not to experience any sudden changes in their dugout before proceedings commenced in Germany this summer.

Nevertheless, Switzerland’s impressive record of reaching the knockout stages of the past five major international tournaments has only been matched by France. Ironically, it was the then world champions who succumbed to the Swiss at the last Euros, as Switzerland pulled off an almighty shock, coming back from 3-1 down in normal time to progress to the quarter finals on penalties in a thrilling last-16 tie.

And a victory this afternoon against Hungary will go a long way to securing passage to the knockout stages once again.

Team news to follow shortly.