Hungary vs France: UEFA EURO 2020 match background, facts and stats

Matchday 2 in UEFA EURO 2020 Group F pits Hungary against France for the first time in 16 years.

• While Hungary are making their second successive EURO appearance, but also just their second in 49 years, France have featured in every tournament since 1992 and have reached the quarter-finals or better in five of their last six appearances – including finishing runners-up on home soil at UEFA EURO 2016.

• Hungary are looking to bounce back after conceding three times in the closing stages to go down 3-0 against holders Portugal at the Puskás Arena on Matchday 1, all the goals coming from the 84th minute onwards. France, meanwhile, beat Germany 1-0 at the Football Arena Munich thanks to a first-half own goal.

Previous meetings

• This is the first time Hungary have faced France since a 2-1 friendly defeat in Metz on 31 May 2005. Djibril Cissé and Florent Malouda were on target in the first half for the home side, Zsombor Kerekes pulling one back late on for Hungary.

• The teams have played eight previous games in Budapest, most recently a 3-1 France win in a March 1990 friendly. Éric Cantona scored twice for the visitors, for whom Franck Sauzée scored the other goal; Attila Pintér's penalty had briefly pulled Hungary back on level terms.

• That was France's first win in Budapest, where they have suffered six defeats including a 13-1 loss in June 1927 that featured a double hat-trick from József Takács and remains Hungary's record victory.

• This is the sides' fifth UEFA European Championship meeting with Hungary having been victorious in three of the four previous encounters and drawn the other. They won 3-1 in Paris and 2-1 in Budapest in the 1964 quarter-finals, and followed a 1-1 draw in Budapest – the only other time France have avoided defeat in Hungary – with a 2-0 win in Paris in qualifying for the 1972 competition.

• The teams have twice crossed paths in the FIFA World Cup group stage. France were 3-1 winners at Argentina '78 before a 3-0 win in Mexico eight years later with Dominique Rocheteau scoring their third goal in each game.

EURO facts: Hungary

• This is Hungary's second consecutive EURO finals. Their 2016 appearance was their first since 1972 and their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup. Only four countries competed at the first two EURO final rounds the Magyars reached – in 1964 and 1972.

• In 2016 a team coached by Bernd Storck finished first in Group F on five points, level with Iceland but above them on head-to-head record, and two points ahead of eventual champions Portugal with eliminated Austria on one point. Hungary opened with a 2-0 win against Austria in Bordeaux, Ádám Szalai opening the scoring, before draws against Iceland (1-1) and Portugal (3-3).

• Belgium proved too strong in the round of 16, however, running out 4-0 winners in Toulouse – although three of those goals came in the final 12 minutes.

• The defeat by Portugal on Matchday 1 means Hungary have now won two of their nine games at EURO final tournaments (D2 L5).

• Hungary were fourth in their UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying group, picking up 12 points from their eight games to finish behind Croatia, Wales and Slovakia – who are all also in the final tournament.

• Marco Rossi's side qualified for the EURO play-offs having finished second in their group in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League, picking up ten points to end two behind Finland and one ahead of Greece.

• The Hungarians then won 3-1 in Bulgaria in their play-off semi-final but looked to be heading out as they trailed to Iceland in their final in Budapest, only for late goals from Loïc Négo (88) and Dominik Szoboszlai (90+2) to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory and a place in the final tournament.

• Defeat by Portugal in their UEFA EURO 2020 opener ended Hungary's nine-match unbeaten in competitive games, (W6 D3), since a 3-2 loss at home to Russia in the UEFA Nations League on 6 September 2020.

• Hungary got to the final of the 1938 and 1954 World Cups, losing to Italy (in France) and West Germany (in Switzerland) respectively.

• Hungary's first match at the Puskás Aréna was a 2-1 friendly defeat by Uruguay on 15 November 2019. They lost the next game too, that 3-2 defeat against Russia in the UEFA Nations League on 6 September 2020, but were victorious at the third attempt with that 2-1 play-off win against Iceland. Their record at the ground is now W2 D2 L3.

• Hungary's overall record in Budapest is now W229 D89 L84.

EURO facts: France

• A 1-0 extra-time defeat by Portugal in the UEFA EURO 2016 final denied France the chance to claim their third EURO title following their triumphs of 1984 and 2000.

• In 2016, Didier Deschamps' team had finished first in their group ahead of Switzerland, Albania and Romania before beating the Republic of Ireland 2-1 – their first EURO knockout win since 2000 – in the round of 16. Iceland (5-2) and Germany (2-0) were then defeated only for Portugal to run out winners in Saint-Denis.

• Les Bleus responded to that disappointment by winning their second World Cup in 2018, defeating Croatia 4-2 in the final to add to their title from 20 years earlier.

• Having won consecutive world (1998) and European (2000) titles with France as a player, Deschamps can repeat the feat as a coach; France aside, only West Germany (1972 EURO, 1974 World Cup) and Spain (2008 and 2012 EURO, 2010 World Cup) have held both titles at the same time.

• France qualified for the 2020 finals by finishing first in Group H, winning eight of their ten qualifiers (D1 L1) to pick up 25 points, two more than Turkey.

• The 2-0 loss in Turkey on 8 June 2019 is France's only defeat in 90 minutes in 18 EURO games (W14 D3).

• France are appearing at their 13th successive world or European final tournament; they have not missed out since the 1994 World Cup, and have reached five finals in that run, winning three of them.

• This is France's tenth EURO, and their eighth in a row; they last failed to qualify for the 1988 event.

• All France's games in Hungary have been against the home side in Budapest. Their record in the city is W1 D1 L6; this is their first game at the Puskás Aréna.

Links and trivia

• Négo, who scored Hungary's late equaliser against Iceland in the UEFA EURO 2020 play-off final – his first international goal – was born in France and was part of the side that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship on home soil alongside Antoine Griezmann. He took Hungarian citizenship in 2019.

• Négo, who began his senior career with Nantes, also scored the decisive penalty as Fehérvár beat French club Reims 4-1 on spot kicks on 24 September 2020 after their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie had finished goalless.

• Has also played in France:
Ádám Lang (Dijon 2016–18, Nancy 2018 loan)

• Péter Gulácsi and substitute Willi Orbán were in the Leipzig side beaten 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals on 18 August 2020. Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappé featured for Paris.

• Gulácsi and Orbán both started as Leipzig beat Paris 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 4 November 2020, with Kimpembe sent off in added time and therefore suspended for the return three weeks later, when Mbappé returned to help Paris win 1-0 at the Parc des Princes.

• As players, Hungary coach Rossi was sent off in Piacenza's 2-0 loss away to Deschamps' Juventus in Serie A on 11 April 1998.

Latest news

Hungary

• Hungary's defeat by Portugal on Matchday 1 ended the team's long unbeaten run that had stretched to 11 matches when they beat Cyprus 1-0 and drew 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland in their two pre-UEFA EURO 2020 friendlies, both played at the Ferenc Szusza Stadion in Budapest.

• András Schäfer's first international goal settled the contest against Cyprus, a game in which János Hahn and Bendegúz Bolla both made their Hungary debuts. Those two players were again involved against Ireland, when another player, Szabolcs Schön, earned his first cap and recalled goalkeeper Ádám Bogdán came off the bench to make his first international appearance for over five years.

• Hahn was the top scorer in the 2020/21 Hungarian top flight, with 22 goals for Paks, the two players just behind him – Fehérvár's Nemanja Nikolić (15) and Honvéd's Dániel Gazdag (13) – having also both made the UEFA EURO 2020 squad along with five members of the title-winning Ferencváros side – Dénes Dibusz, Gergő Lovrencsics, Dávid Sigér, Endre Botka and Bogdán.

• Ádám Lang was also a league champion in 2020/21, winning the Cypriot league with Omonoia, for whom he also started all six group games in the UEFA Europa League.

• Captain Ádám Szalai is the only player in Marco Rossi's squad who has scored at a major tournament. He found the net against Austria at UEFA EURO 2016 and is one of nine Hungarian survivors from that event along with Lang, Lovrencsics, Nikolić, Attila Fiola, László Kleinheisler, Ádám Nagy and unused goalkeepers Dibusz and Péter Gulácsi.

• Skipper Szalai is also the only player in the Hungary squad with more than 50 caps and ten international goals to his name, boasting respective tallies of 71 and 23. Nagy will reach the half-century on his next appearance.

• Hungary's EURO play-off match-winner Dominik Szoboszlai was ruled out of the final tournament with a groin injury that has sidelined him since he joined Leipzig from Salzburg at the turn of the year.

France

• France's opening win against Germany was their fifth successive victory – all with clean sheets. Les Bleus have now won 17 of their last 21 matches, during which they have only suffered one defeat – 0-2 at home to Finland in a Stade de France friendly on 11 November 2020.

• The world champions warmed up for UEFA EURO 2020 with two 3-0 home wins, defeating Wales in Nice on 2 June, with goals from Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Moussa Dembélé, and Bulgaria in Saint-Denis six days later, a late double from Olivier Giroud – his 45th and 46th international goals – adding to another Griezmann strike.

• Griezmann has appeared in all of France's last 49 internationals, starting every one of the team's 35 competitive matches during that sequence, which began in August 2017. Since making his debut for Les Bleus in March 2014 the Barcelona forward has never missed a competitive international, starting 50 and coming off the bench in the other three. His 92 caps have brought him 37 goals, 23 of them in competitive matches.

• Didier Deschamps' experienced UEFA EURO 2020 squad includes two centurions in Giroud (108 caps) and captain Hugo Lloris (126). The 26 players collectively have 179 major tournament appearances and 27 goals between them.

• There are 14 of France's 2018 FIFA World Cup winners in the UEFA EURO 2020 squad, five of whom were also present on home soil at UEFA EURO 2016 – Lloris, Griezmann, Giroud, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kanté. Three other players – Moussa Sissoko, Kingsley Coman and Lucas Digne – have returned for a second successive EURO having missed out on the World Cup triumph in Russia.

• Karim Benzema is back in the France fold, the friendlies against Wales and Bulgaria marking his first appearances for Les Bleus since October 2015 and the EURO opener against Germany his first tournament outing since the quarter-final of the World Cup against the same opponents in July 2014. The 33-year-old Real Madrid striker is a veteran of the 2008 and 2012 EUROs though he has yet to score at the final tournament in seven outings.

• Griezmann was the top scorer at UEFA EURO 2016, his six goals leaving him three shy of compatriot Michel Platini's French record mark at EURO final tournaments and level with Thierry Henry. Griezmann and Giroud have both scored nine EURO goals, qualifiers included, the latter having registered three times at the finals.

• The 2020/21 season was a productive one for most of the players in the France squad as 15 of them collected major silverware with their clubs. Giroud, Kanté and Kurt Zouma were UEFA Champions League winners with Chelsea; Coman, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernández and Corentin Tolisso were German champions with Bayern München; Thomas Lemar won the Spanish Liga with Atlético de Madrid; Mike Maignan was ever-present in goal for Ligue 1 winners LOSC Lille; Griezmann, Dembélé and Clément Lenglet won the Copa del Rey with Barcelona; Adrien Rabiot was a Coppa Italia winner with Juventus; and Mbappé and Presnel Kimpembe lifted the Coupe de France with Paris Saint-Germain.

• Mbappé was Ligue 1's top scorer for the third season running, with 27 goals for Paris, and also found the net eight times in the UEFA Champions League. As at the 2018 World Cup, he remains, aged 22, the youngest player in France's squad.

• Mbappé was one of 20 players in the France squad who played UEFA Champions League football in 2020/21, with three others involved in the UEFA Europa League. The only players who missed out on European football were Everton's Digne, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder and Lyon's Léo Dubois.