Hungary 1-3 Switzerland: Embolo secures win in Cologne

Breel Embolo scored in added time to help Switzerland hold off Hungary's second-half fightback and get their UEFA EURO 2024 campaign off to a winning start.

Match in brief: Switzerland set off with victory

It was not long after Hungary's first meaningful foray forward – which resulted in a shot over the bar by Roland Sallai – that Switzerland opened their EURO 2024 account. Starting wide on the left, Michel Aebischer had been drifting inside to good effect and picked up the ball in space to thread in Kwadwo Duah, who slotted confidently past Péter Gulácsi.

Kwadwo Duah wheels away in celebration after striking early on in Cologne AFP via Getty Images

Hungary were being pinned back and Switzerland always looked more likely. The second arrived on the stroke of half-time as some slick passing on the edge of the box found Aebischer, who curled a low shot into the bottom corner.

Marco Rossi shuffled his pack at the break, bringing on Bendegúz Bolla, and the Magyarok responded well. Moments after spurning a glorious headed chance, Barnabás Varga stooped low to glance in from captain Dominik Szoboszlai's centre.

The pace of the game lifted and half-chances came at either end. Crosses rained into the Switzerland box, but the back line stood firm – and it was the Nati who then broke clear to secure all three points as Breel Embolo, off the bench and back from injury, capitalised on a loose header and lifted the ball over Gulácsi.

Vivo Player of the Match: Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)

"A complete midfield performance – excellent in possession both in the build-up and in telling passes. Great work ethic and leadership, and a great organiser."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Andy Clark, Hungary reporter

Not the start Hungary wanted to get off to at EURO 2024, but a much better second-half showing following a first 45 minutes in which Rossi’s side were largely second best. Hungary were much more like their usual selves in the second half, and when you have the creative talents of Szoboszlai coupled with the predatory instinct of Varga, there's always a chance.

Anna-Sophia Vollmerhausen, Switzerland reporter

A winning start for the Swiss, who looked in control for much of today's game. Aebischer will get plenty of plaudits for his goal and assist today, but it would be remiss to not extend that praise to Ruben Vargas, Dan Ndoye and Duah, who all looked equally hungry in front of goal – and, of course, how wonderful to see Embolo back and scoring. It's the result the Swiss were hoping for, with three points on the board, although they will rue having missed out on a clean sheet and for allowing their control to slip by allowing Hungary a chance to get back in the game.

Michel Aebischer scored one and set one up in a superb first-half displayAFP via Getty Images

Reaction

Murat Yakin, Switzerland coach: "I liken football to chess and today we got our tactics right. We used this formation for a particular reason. We focused on making the most of our strength and we made our opponents' lives very hard in the first half."

Granit Xhaka, Vivo Player of the Match and Switzerland captain: "We saw how many Swiss were in the stadium today and the atmosphere was fantastic. Our qualification wasn't great and this was a match where we suffered a bit, but not too much as we dominated the first half. But even when we struggled, we struggled together and we were strong as a team."

Marco Rossi, Hungary coach: "The first half was very bad, apart from the first seven-eight minutes, but we were too passive. Against these teams at this level, it becomes very difficult."

Ádám Lang, Hungary defender: "The first half was dominated by Switzerland, we gave them too much time and space to think and dictate the tempo. We gave them a 45-minute head start to do what they want. When you are 2-0 down you have to take more risks, and that's why we were more dangerous in the second."

Key stats

Dominik Szoboszlai set up his side's goal on the day he became the youngest every EURO captainAFP via Getty Images

• Switzerland have lost only one of their last eight EURO group stage matches (W4 D3).
• Duah marked his competitive international debut with the game's opening goal.
• Duah became only the third Swiss player to mark his first EURO appearance with a goal, after Kübilay Türkyilmaz against England in 1996 and Fabian Schär versus Albania in the 2016 edition.
• Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai became the youngest-ever EURO captain, at the age of 23 years and 234 days.
• Roland Sallai became the 50th player to make 50 appearances for Hungary.

Line-ups

Hungary: Gulácsi; Lang (Bolla 46), Orbán, Szalai (Dárdai 79); Fiola, Nagy (Kleinheisler 67), Schäfer, Kerkez (Ádám 79); Sallai, Szoboszlai; Varga

Switzerland: Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez; Widmer (Stergiou 68), Xhaka, Freuler (Sierro 86), Aebischer; Ndoye (Rieder 86), Vargas (Embolo 74); Duah (Amdouni 68)