Hungary has defeated England 4-0 at Molineux Stadium to move to the top of their UEFA Nations League group. It is the second time Hungary beat England in the same competition. The visitors handed the hosts their worst defeat on home ground after 94 years. England had never suffered such a humiliating loss since 1928 when Scotland humbled them by 5-1. Hungary also defeated England at Wembley Stadium in 1953 by 6-3.
Home fans turned on The Three Lions after the final whistle and expressed displeasure with manager Gareth Southgate. The coach decided to give non-regular players a chance, but the experiment backfired.
Hungary Leads its Nations League Group
While England dominated possession and created chances, it came short against its clinical opponents. Hungary responded with 5 shots on target, out of 4 went in the net. SC Freiburg’s winger Roland Sallai scored the opening goal after 16 minutes and netted a brace after 70 minutes. Then midfielders Zsolt Nagy and Daniel Gazdag put England out of their misery.
It was a shocking revelation for many fans that Hungary came out on top of its Nations League group. It was surrounded by giants like Italy, Germany, and England, which led many to believe that it would be eaten alive. However, after defeating each of these giants, Hungary is now in the clear. On the other hand, England has dropped to the bottom of the table after failing to win a single match in the friendly competition. Its next 2 games are against Italy and Germany.
Hungary Throws Support Behind England
After winning the Nations League match, Hungary’s manager Marco Rossi supported Gareth Southgate, saying, “these kinds of results happen, and everybody should know that”. He added that Southgate was a “good coach”, but a score like 4-0 was difficult for anyone to accept. Acknowledging that England’s team performed at the top level, Rossi said they did not produce the “right effort”. He advised England to follow the same track they always followed, referring to Southgate’s experimentation with the Squad.
Fans Boo England Players and Manager
What followed after the loss was a bit of an “over-reaction” from the English crowd. Staying true to their usual behaviour, they hurled disrespectful chants at the players and manager. They were heard saying things like “you don’t know what you’re doing” and “you’re getting sacked in the morning” to the coach. Meanwhile, the devastated players had to face chants like “shame on you” instead of condolences.
The loss weighs heavily on the England players and coach Gareth Southgate. It not only puts them in the danger of relegating to the second-tier of the Nations League, but their performance also raises concerns ahead of World Cup in Qatar. There were huge expectations with Southgate, who led England to the Euro 2020 Final against Italy, only to lose.
