SCOTLAND VS HUNGARY: PREVIEW, PREDICTION & BETTING PICKS

Scotland produced a more impressive performance from their opening group showing against Germany in their recent group against Switzerland. The Tartan Army suffered a humiliating defeat in their opening group game, however, the result against Switzerland has given Scotland a great opportunity to qualify for the round of 16. Scott McTominay will be the one player to which Scotland will have high hopes for. The Manchester United midfielder was the top scorer during the qualifiers for Scotland and he scored Scotland’s first goal at this European Championships – Antonio Rudiger scored an own goal against Scotland in the opening game.Hungary are yet to acquire any points at this European Championships and against Germany, their qualification chances suffered a huge blow with a defeat. Admittedly, their performances did improve in the second group game and at times they caused Germany various problems and were unlucky as they had a goal ruled out by VAR.

For this game, we are predicting Scotland to slightly edge out their opponents. Qualification places will be up for grabs and Scotland’s second game performance showed great signs of progress in which they could bring forward into their game against Hungary. Scotland 2-1 Hungary

Scotland take on Hungary with the Tartan Army having a huge opportunity to potentially qualify for the round of 16 of the European Championships for the first time in their history.

Kick-Off: 4 PM (EST)

Location: MHP Arena

Date: 23/06/2024

Steve Clarke’s side are now in a great position for qualification after the first two games – which seemed to be an unrealistic view from the opening game. Scotland were beaten convincingly by Germany 5-1 in the opening game and mere days later they produced a far better performance as they drew 1-1 with Switzerland. That result against Switzerland leaves Scotland third in the group after two games and if they were to beat Hungary, they could potentially finish as one of the better third-placed teams. Scotland’s goal difference is what could prevent them from qualifying should that factor come into question.Hungary on the other hand is bottom of the group after two games played, following their 2-0 defeat to Germany.

Hungary is now also on a run of five games in the European Championships without a win, which doesn’t bode well for their chances against Scotland. Hungary would need to beat Scotland to have any chance of finishing in a third-placed spot since their chances of a top-two finish are mathematically over.Hungary and Scotland have only faced each other once in the last ten years and that was an international friendly in 2018. Scotland won the game by a single goal, thanks to Oliver McBurnie’s goal shortly after half-time. Charlie Mulgrew missed a penalty for Scotland in the first half.

Scotland

Ryan Porteous received a red card for his reckless challenge against Germany and received an initial one-game suspension. Since that game, the Watford defender has been given a further two-match ban, which could prevent him from playing any further part in the tournament if Scotland fails to qualify.

Hungary

Hungary has notable representatives from the Premier League with Milos Kerkez and Dominik Szoboszlai from Bournemouth and Liverpool respectively. Hungary’s squad features a strong Bundesliga contingent which includes the likes of Roland Sallai and Willi Orban. Hungary received a yellow card in the previous game, as Bernabas Varga picked up a yellow for dissent.

Scotland qualified for their fourth European Championship by finishing second in their group – a group which consisted of Spain and Norway. Scotland finished with an impressive 17 points from 24 points possible, having finished four points behind Spain. The Tartan Army won five, drew two and lost only one of their eight group games – the loss came against Spain in which Scotland had a goal controversially ruled out.Following the disappointing defeat against Germany in the opening game, Scotland are in considerably poor form. In their last five games, Steve Clarke’s side have won only once, drawing once and losing the remaining three. Scotland’s most recent win was a 2-0 win over Gibraltar in which they failed to score in the first half. Ryan Christie and Che Adams were the scorers for Scotland that day.

Scotland’s most recent game before this tournament was a 2-2 draw against Finland at Hampden Park. The home side took the lead through an own goal from Arttu Hoskonen early in the second half and in the 58th minute, Scotland doubled their lead, thanks to a fine header from Lawrence Shankland. Two late goals from Benjamin Kallman and Oliver Antman denied Scotland a much-needed confidence boost before the tournament. In the game against Switzerland, an individual error cost Scotland the victory. Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay gave Scotland the lead in the 13th minute with a deflected effort off Fabian Schar. Scotland’s lead soon disappeared as Xherdan Shaqiri capitalised on an Anthony Ralston back pass to score a sublime effort into the top left corner.

Hungary had entered the European Championships in great form, having won five of their previous five games before the tournament began. Hungary have now suffered two defeats from their two opening games – 3-1 against Switzerland and a defeat against Germany in their second group game which leaves them in a precarious position in the qualification race.The Hungarians were brilliant in their qualification campaign, having won five from their eight games and drawn the remaining three.

Before this tournament, Hungary was unbeaten in their last eight competitive fixtures with their last defeat coming against current European Champions Italy.Hungary have now gone five games in the European Championships without gaining a win. The last time Hungary gained a point was in a 2-2 draw with Germany at the last European Championships in 2021. Hungary’s last victory at the European Championships was a 2-0 win over Austria in 2016 thanks to goals from Zoltan Stiebar and Adam Szalai.