In the third game of the Nations League, the German national soccer team in Hungary cannot get beyond a draw.
Jonas Hofmann (9th) quickly equalized Hungary’s lead through Zsolt Nagy (6th) in the 1-1 (1-1) on Saturday (June 11th, 2022) in Budapest. With the third draw in the third game, the DFB selection after the draws in Italy and against England after the first half of the season in Group 3 of the Nations League A remains without a win and ranks behind Italy (5 points) and Hungary (4) in third place.
“We actually wanted to force a win today and you just didn’t notice that in the second half,” said captain Manuel Neuer on the sports show microphone.
Hungary’s first attack is direct
In the second Nations League away game, national coach Hansi Flick relied on a back four and the “Bavarian” duo of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the midfield headquarters.
The game started with two big exclamation marks. Hungary used its first attack to take the lead. Nico Schlotterbeck was unfavorable when he crossed into the center. Manuel Neuer parried the following header with a reflex – but right in front of Nagy’s feet, who scored the 1-0 from close range with a shot under the bar.
Hofmann to Schlotterbeck-Pass on the spot
However, the joy in the sold-out Puskas Arena only resisted for a short time. Almost three minutes later Schlotterbeck saw in his own half that Hofmann started behind the defense of the guests. Hofmann took the central defender’s long ball past Peter Gulacsi, who ran out, and scored to make it 1-1.
After that, the encounter calmed down. Hungary was waiting for changeover situations. The German team tried to get past the hosts’ defense with longer ball relays. Both teams had good chances before the break. However, a shot by David Raum from the left corner of the penalty area went just wide of the Hungarian goal (40′) and on the other side Neuer responded strongly to a shot by Attila Fiola from close range (44′).
More opportunities for Hungary
In a slow second half, Hungary played even more cautiously and gave the ball to the DFB-Elf. However, they found it increasingly difficult against the tight defense. The German supporters had to wait until the 73rd minute for the first good attempt towards the opposing goal, when Hofmann escaped again via half right, but then made the wrong decision in front of the goal with an inaccurate pass towards Timo Werner.
“I’ll take the missed 2:1 on my cap. In the end I just have to push him in long,” admitted Hofmann after the game. In the closing stages, Hungary had two good chances with a long-range shot from Daniel Gazdag (81′) and a header from Martin Adam (82′). Both times Neuer was on the post.
Before the summer break, the team of national coach Flick has one more game. On Tuesday (8.45 p.m.) in Mönchengladbach they play the second leg against Italy, who drew 0-0 in England in their third game.