Euro 2020: Hungary and Slovakia in Group E Shootout

Hungary vs Slovakia

There’s a fascinating Euro 2020 clash at the Groupama Arena in Budapest on Monday night, when Hungary hosts Slovakia in a crunch Group E clash.

In a tight group which also includes 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia, as well as a competitive Wales side which features Manchester United’s Daniel James and Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. But while neither Marco Rossi’s Magyars nor Pavel Hapal’s Slovakia is blessed with many household names, they are both in the mix for qualification, Hungary joint top on nine points with their visitors three behind.

Neither team will feature in the top end of the Euro 2020 betting odds here at SBOBET but either could easily qualify for the finals next summer, the winners of this game will put themselves in a strong position. If that happens to be Hungary, then they will open up a six point gap over their opponents.

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UEFA EURO 2020

Talking Points

Still Any Two from Four

The Euro 2020 results in Group E have seen ups and downs for the four top teams and only three points separate these two and Croatia and Wales. Azerbaijan are the whipping boys, yet to earn a point and with a goal difference of -8.

Croatia is the Group E favourite, level on nine points with Hungary and blessed with talented players, such as Ivan Perisic, who ran Wales ragged when they met. And Hungary’s next opponents received a football education on Friday night, losing 0-4 at home to the Croats.

But Slovakia is still in contention having opened its Euro 2020 campaign with a 2-0 win over Hungary in a tight game decided by a first half goal from Ondrej Duda and a late second courtesy of Albert Rusnak. And they do have one star name. After a fine career in Serie A with Napoli, Marek Hamsik moved to Dalian Yifang at the end of 12 years in Naples. He became the Italian club’s top scorer and top appearance maker of all time with 121 goals in 520 games, and at 31 years of age he has the vision and ability to unlock any defence, arguably still at the top of his game.

Can Marek Hamsik add another goal in his record when they face Hungary in Euro 2020 Qualifiers — Marek Hamsik fights for the ball against Ante Rebic

Hamsik has two goals already in the tournament and is the visitors’ best hope of a win.

Impressive Magyars

Since the opening defeat to Slovakia, Hungary has been clicking through the gears nicely, with impressive wins over Croatia and Wales and a comfortable victory over Azerbaijan. Rossi has been dong an impressive job, with limited resources, leading his team to good performances which have put them in a superb position to defy expectations and reach the finals.

Mate Patkai and defender Willi Orban have two goals each, Patkai scoring the decisive goal in the win over Wales which sent Hungary to the top of the group. Rossi has been careful with his squad, resting experienced striker Adam Szalai in the 201 friendly loss to Montenegro on Thursday.

Bristol City midfielder Adam Nagy could feature, a cultured player, he could dictate the tempo of the game if Hungary makes a good start.

History

The hosts have a fine history on the international stage and older fans will hope a return of the good times may be around the corner. Hungary are twice runners up in the World Cup and twice semi-finalists in the European Championships, with the era of the Magnificent Magyars inspired by the great Ferenc Puskas, who scored an incredible 84 goals for his country.

Of course, Slovakia only became an official country as recently as 1993, so their progress to becoming a competitive European nation is as much as their fans could expect. Having qualified for the 2016 finals, reaching another tournament showcase is still within their grasp.

Both teams are in decent form; Hungary has four wins in six while Slovakia has three in six, though the visitors will have to shake off the 0-4 drubbing at the hands of Croatia.

In four previous meetings Hungary is yet to win, and is yet to score a goal against Slovakia, losing three and drawing one.

Betting Tip

	Hungary vs Slovakia	First Half Over 0.75 goals @1.77
	September 10, 02:45 (GMT+8)

This is a really tough game to call with all three results firmly in play. Hungary is marginal favourite at 2.46, with the draw at 3.00 and Slovakia available at odds of 2.63 to grab a crucial three points.

The previous clashes haven’t been full of goals, but neither team has been shot shy in this campaign, scoring 13 between them, and I think there will be at least one goal in the first half.