Preview: Iceland v Hungary
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Article summary
Iceland and Hungary both upset the form book to make impressive starts to Group F on Tuesday and know very well that victory in Marseille would be a massive step.
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Article body
- Both teams impressed on Tuesday as Hungary beat Austria 2-0 and Iceland held Portugal 1-1
- Hungary will be through with sixth consecutive victory against Iceland
- Hungary's Balázs Dzsudzsák scored in most recent meeting: 4-0 friendly win in 2011
- Lars Lagerbäck overcame Hungary twice as Sweden coach in 2010 World Cup qualifying
- Also in Group F: Portugal v Austria (21:00CET on Saturday, Paris)
Possible line-ups
Iceland: Halldorsson; Sævarsson, R Sigurdsson, Árnason, Skúlason; Gudmundsson, G Sigurdsson, Gunnarsson, Bjarnason; Sigthórsson, Bödvarsson.
Yellow card away from suspension: Bjarnason, Finnbogason
Hungary: Király; Lovrencsics, Guzmics, Lang, Kádár; Gera; Németh, Nagy, Kleinheisler, Dzsudzsák; Szalai.
Out: Fiola (ankle)
Yellow card away from suspension: Németh
Lars Lagerbäck, Iceland joint coach
Hungary are a good team. I've been impressed with them. I think they have taken a step forward [in the finals]. They're well organised and work hard, so I expect a really, really tough game.
We have two matches coming up and we're going for three points in both. We want first of all to qualify, but also to have as good a position as possible in the group. So we'll definitely go for a win.
Bernd Storck, Hungary coach
Our strategy will be a little bit different to how it was against Austria. Iceland are a different team, they play very physically, they are very disciplined, and they play a different tactical style. They have a lot of internationally experienced players and a very, very good team spirit.
We still have the euphoria of the first game in our system, which we will take into the second game and we'll see what happens. We want to put on a good performance, with the supporters right behind us.
Team reporters
Jóhann Sigurdsson, Iceland (@UEFAcomJohannS)
Iceland are still on a high after the historic draw with Portugal. Yet while the fans are still celebrating, the players have long since started to think about the threat of Hungary. The feeling among the team is that the Portugal result will mean nothing if they don't get three points in Marseille on Saturday. A win would take them ever closer to the last 16. Closer to another historic step.
Matthew Watson-Broughton, Hungary (@UEFAcomMattWlB)
Storck is in no mood for complacency. "It will be a tough game," he says. Few disagree. Right-back Attila Fiola misses out with an ankle knock sustained in Tuesday's victory over Austria but Gergő Lovrencsics, his likely replacement, is back in training after a knee problem. Hungary may try to counter Iceland's aerial strength with the selection of the taller members of their squad – and such is the competition for places they should not be weaker for it.
Form guide (all games, most recent first)
Hungary: WLDDWLWDDW
Iceland: DWLWLLLWLL
Did you know?
With a population of 330,000, Iceland is the smallest nation to have appeared at any major final tournament; with around 10 million citizens, Hungary's population is around 30 times that of Iceland. Find out more in our extensive match background.
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