Solid start for Sáez

Hungary 1-1 Spain
New Spain coach Iñaki Sáez saw his troops earn a creditable draw in their international friendly match against Hungary in Budapest tonight.

Hope for the future
Sáez will be pleased with his protégés, of whom Pablo Orbáiz, Raúl Bravo and José Antonio García Calvo had outstanding debuts, while the inexperienced Raúl Tamudo, Joaquín Sánchez and Vicente Rodríguez showed there is real hope for the future.

Tamudo on target
Tamudo showed his striking prowess as he gave the Spanish a 54th-minute lead with a diving header from Joaquín's cross. And after Zsolt Löw was unlucky to see his shot hit the post following a rush of blood from Spain goalkeeper Ricardo, Vasile Miriuta levelled the scores with a 71st-minute thunderbolt.

Unstoppable shot
The tenacious midfield player, who was Hungary's best player on the night, collected a return pass that split the Spanish defence before firing an unstoppable left-foot shot past Ricardo, who had come on at half-time.

Joaquín goes close
Both sides had chances to win the game, but Joaquín will be kicking himself after rounding Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Király in the 75th minute and then hitting the side-netting .

Greece opener
Spain start their EURO 2004™ qualifying campaign with a tricky Group 6 tie away in Greece and must also face Northern Ireland, Ukraine and Armenia. Hungary find themselves drawn in Group 4, alongside Poland, Sweden, San Marino and Latvia.