EURO 2020: Hungary – Portugal 0 – 3 – szókincs

Hungary put on a great performance against reigning European champion Portugal. The grit and determination shown by the national team was worthy of a draw. But Fate had a different scenario in mind: although the match was still a stalemate in the 84th minute, by the final whistle, Portugal had scored three goals and Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated another record.

Hungary has never won a match against Portugal, which was not a good omen. However, according to head coach Marco Rossi’s expectations, the national team entered the pitch with courage and determination. The squad was well-organized, especially the defense: Willy Orbán is now a household name in Europe. But the other central defenders, Botka and Attila Szalai, and the wing–backs, Gergő Lovrencsics and Attila Fiola, proved their worth as well.

On the other side, Cristiano Ronaldo was not only playing for the three points for Portugal, but also for personal records. By having been named in the starting line-up, he had already become one of the few players to have played in five different European Championships. But having been the joint top scorer of the EUROs with French legend Michel Platini, he was only one goal away from being the sole No. 1. Also, by winning the match, as joint leader he could become the player with the most EURO wins (12).

Portugal had more overall possession, but their attempts caused little to no problem for Hungary’s world-class goalkeeper, Péter Gulácsi, although the pressure was high for 20 minutes. In the first half, Hungary had only one shot at goal: a header by Ádám Szalai to be precise, but our team was not inferior to the reigning European champions. Hungary was missing two key players, injured Dominik Szoboszlai and Zsolt Kalmár, especially for their creativity in the midfield. The defense was solid, and every time Hungary started to attack, a Portuguese foul stopped our advance.

In the second half, Hungary had more room to attack, although Portugal still stopped most of these early through tactical fouls. Ádám Szalai, Hungary’s center forward with a fighting spirit, conceded more fouls than anyone else on the pitch, including the legendary CR7. Apropos, Cristiano Ronaldo. He was almost invisible in the second half, and as more and more minutes had passed, he became more and more frustrated with the lack of opportunities.

In the 80th minute the whole stadium (well, 97 percent of the stadium: the Hungarian fans) jumped up to celebrate: after a counter-attack, the fast Szabolcs Schön, who had only entered the pitch a few minutes prior, scored for Hungary. However, the referee ruled it as offside, rightfully so.

Unfortunately, not long after came an even bigger disappointment: Guerreiro’s shot deflected on Willy Orbán and went right into the corner, Gulácsi could not save it. 0-1. The Hungarian squad was determined to equalize, but after a Portuguese counter, Willy Orbán attempted a hard tackle against Rafa Silva, which the referee saw was a foul and gave Portugal a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo did not miss the shot, 0-2, breaking another record and becoming the top goal scorer of the European Championships with 10 goals.

And it still was not over…in the stoppage time, the now highly-motivated Cristiano Ronaldo made it to a brace, 0-3.

However, despite the result, the fans were still grateful for the performance, and the players’ courage and determination. After the final whistle, the players and the tens of thousands of fans sang the Himnusz, Hungary’s anthem, together.

Hungary – Portugal 0–3 (0–0)

Budapest, Puskás Aréna.

Hungary: Gulácsi – Botka, Orbán, A. Szalai – Lovrencsics, Á. Nagy (R. Varga, 88.), Kleinheisler (Sigér, 78.), Schäfer (Nego, 65.), Fiola (K. Varga, 88.) – Á. Szalai, Sallai (Schön, 77.)

Portugal: Rui Patrício – Nélson Semedo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Guerreiro – Danilo Pereira, William Carvalho (Renato Sanches, 81.), Bruno Fernandes (Moutinho, 89.) – Bernardo Silva (Rafa Silva, 71.), C. Ronaldo, Diogo Jota (André Silva, 81.)

Goals: Guerreiro (84.), C. Ronaldo (87. (P), 90+2.)

sources (article; pictures): Hungary Today; Tamás Kovács/MTI and MTI/AP pool/Tibor Illyés