UEFA Nations League: England beaten in Hungary, Italy hold Germany
A tired England side went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat in Hungary in the Uefa Nations League on Saturday, while Germany had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with an inexperienced Italy team.
RB Leipzig star Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the second half in Budapest as Hungary beat England for the first time since 1962.
Defeat on penalties to Italy in the European Championship final last year was the only time Gareth Southgate’s side had been beaten in their previous 22 games.
Hungary were forced to play the game behind closed doors due to the behaviour of fans during their home matches at Euro 2020.
However, Uefa guidelines allow children under the age of 14 to be given free tickets under such circumstances and the Hungarian Football Federation took full advantage.
Southgate’s men will next face Germany and Italy, who played out an entertaining stalemate in Bologna in Saturday’s other League A, Group 3 game.
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini gave a much-changed Italy team the lead 20 minutes from time when he turned in a superb cross from teenage debutant Wilfried Gnonto.
Gnonto, 18, had just been sent on after impressing in FC Zurich’s run to this season’s Swiss Super League title.
However, Germany needed just three minutes to draw level as the home defence failed to clear Jonas Hofmann’s ball into the middle and Joshua Kimmich fired in.
Germany play England in Munich on Tuesday while European champions Italy — looking to move on following their failure to qualify for the World Cup — host Hungary before travelling to face Southgate’s side in Wolverhampton next weekend.
The winners of each of the four groups in League A will go through to the final stages in June next year with promotion and relegation between the other leagues and the chance to earn places in Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs for teams who fail to qualify via the usual route.
Full Results
Hungary 1-0 England
Italy 1-1 Germany
Armenia 1-0 Republic of Ireland
Finland 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Montenegro 2-0 Romania
Lithuania 0-2 Luxembourg
Turkey 4-0 Faroe Islands
