Hungary lead Nations League “group of death”
Sports Desk, Jun 4 (EFE).- Hungary grabbed the top spot in the Nations League “group of death” Saturday thanks to a historic 1-0 victory over England and a draw between Germany and Italy.
The Three Lions came into the match at Puskas Arena in Budapest with just one loss in their previous 22 matches – to Italy in last summer’s Euro 2020 final – and 60 years removed from England’s last defeat at the hands of Hungary.
Hungary couldn’t have asked for a better debut in League A, the elite tier of the Nations League, after toiling in the lower divisions during the first two editions of the competition.
The visitors were listless, coming to life only after Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty in the 66th minute to put the Hungarians ahead, and never tested home goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
Hosting Germany in Bologna, Italy showed improvement from the team that fell 3-0 to Argentina last week in the Conmebol-UEFA Cup of Champions.
Roberto Mancini made 10 changes to the squad, signaling the start of a renovation after the Azzurri again failed to qualify for the World Cup.
The new faces gave a good account of themselves and Italy grabbed the lead in the 70th minute on a goal by Lorenzo Pellegrini, but Joshua Kimmich brought Die Mannschaft level three minutes later and the teams shared the points.
Germany extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches. EFE
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