As soon as the game had picked up speed, Flick had to doubt his judgment of the “good way”. A long ball from Hungary’s Willi Orban duped the German back four. David Raum let Attila Fiola do the cross, Schlotterbeck was too far away when Roland Sallai headed the ball. Although Manuel Neuer was able to parry with a reflex, Nagy chased the ball under the crossbar in the follow-up shot.
It was precisely these defensive dropouts that Flick had actually forbidden after having recently managed to keep a clean sheet against the Netherlands, Italy and England. After all, like at the start of the Nations League in Italy, his protégés showed a prompt reaction within three minutes. Schlotterbeck’s long pass reached the well-started Hofmann, Hungary’s keeper Peter Gulasci misjudged the run out. The Gladbach player passed the ball and pushed into the empty goal to equalize.
Hofman again
Hofmann had already scored the German goal against the English. In Italy, the 29-year-old prepared the equalizer. So far this Nations League summer, Hofmann has been one of the winners in the search for the World Cup squad for Qatar.
But the quick answer gave the guests no security. Flick gesticulated eagerly on the sidelines and seemed very upset by his team’s performance. The Germans had much more possession of the ball, but no control of the game. On the defensive, the DFB selection seemed very vulnerable against the quickly switching Hungary. Above all, the Hoffenheim area, allegedly courted by Borussia Dortmund, repeatedly got into trouble on the left side.
As in the trembling 2:2 in the European Championship group game last year, the hosts proved to be extremely uncomfortable opponents. But that was also due to the fact that Flick’s specifications for commitment and offensive line were not implemented. When Schlotterbeck ironed out a bad pass from Niklas Süle and received a yellow card suspension, the national coach had even more reason to be angry.
Chances such as the header from birthday boy Kai Havertz (18th) and the shot from Raum (40th) past the far post were scarce. Neuer even had to save the draw against Fiola’s direct acceptance into the dressing room (44th).
Hungary missed winning goal
And it didn’t get any better after the change of sides. The German team only increased the tempo for a short time, but soon the Hungarians were organized again in their compact defense. In the game forward, the DFB team lacked ideas and esprit. After a lot of idling, Hofmann suddenly reappeared free in front of Gulasci, but his pass didn’t reach Timo Werner (72′).
With the substitutions of Ilkay Gündogan, Müller and Julian Brandt, Flick wanted to give impetus again. However, it was Hungary who had the best chance of scoring the winning goal. Neuer deflected a long-range shot from Daniel Gazdag (81′) over the goal. Even in the last few minutes, the German team couldn’t do anything countable.