Hungary clinch a crucial point against France held on 1-1 in Euro 2020
Hungary 1-1 France: For a dizzying period at the Puskas Arena, as the sweltering heat hit 30°C and a capacity home crowd frothed with fervour and fury, France almost became lost at sea.
The world champions had dominated the ball, of course. Antoine Griezmann had conspired to miss a simple tap-in. N’Golo Kante, supported by his four shadows, had smothered the midfield single-handedly.
But for all their chances, for all the inevitable suspicion that their quality would eventually tell, the first signs of weakness were appearing in the tournament’s finest armoury.
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On the brink of half-time, as Karim Benzema huffed. Kylian Mbappe shrugged, and Didier Deschamps gazed glassily into the middle distance. France weren’t so much knocked off their stride as swept off their feet in what threatened to become the biggest upset of Euro 2020.
World Champion France got Underpressure
It is barely an exaggeration to claim that the stadium shook as Attila Fiola collected a one-two, hurtled away from Benjamin Pavard and toe-poked the ball past Hugo Lloris at the near post. Sixty thousand fans rose in unison and erupted into a wave of sound. France had been hit by an earthquake of their own frustrated complacency. And after surviving a first-half onslaught, Hungary were making hay out of the rubble.
A familiar pattern throughout Euro 2020 that, for all the heavy favourites in the group stage. The results have still hard-earned through sweat and patience rather than individual brilliance.
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Italy’s operatic intensity took 53 minutes to reach a crescendo against Turkey. In Hungary’s previous defeat against Portugal, they muted Cristiano Ronaldo until the finale. For Spain, the high notes against Switzerland never came at all.
And yet there had always been more of a surety to this France squad. They have long been outright favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley next month. In recent years, they have operated with a level of genius and grace most international sides cannot even dream of matching.
A slim and somewhat unlucky deficit should hardly have marked anxious territory for an all-conquering side. But as the second half wore on, they became highly strung and unmistakably jittery. Presnel Kimpembe beat the turf in frustration.
Raphael Varane miscued one of several clearances. Even Mbappe, irrepressible in the first half, found the ball sticking under his feet. And with every mistake, as another misplaced pass or cross lifted the avalanche of pressure from Hungary’s defence, the crowd began to believe the unlikeliest of miracles was creeping into a reality.
A crucial game against Portugal
But, of course, France’s greatest strength is not just their wealth of World Cup-winning experience, but the gluttony of riches at their disposal, too. Sensing the discomfort, Deschamps seized on Adrien Rabiot’s clumsy tackle and replaced the midfielder with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele.
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The substitution – and switch to operating effectively with four forwards – became a lightning bolt.
Moments after coming on, Dembele skipped down the right wing, faked a shot that felled two Hungary defenders, and fizzed a shot off the post. His injection of urgency, from a seemingly bottomless pit of ammunition, galvanised France. Before long, the pressure finally told.
