EURO 2024 has begun and it continues today with another bumper schedule of games.
Hungary and Switzerland lock horns this afternoon at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne just a day after hosts Germany kick the tournament off against Scotland.
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The Hungarians and the Swiss may have a tough act to follow, but their own match will include a strong Premier League presence.
Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai will be competing for Marco Rossi’s side and will be joined by Sunderland’s Callum Styles.
Switzerland, on the other hand, will be represented by Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar.
Akanji and Shar will be joined by ex-Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri, former Arsenal ace Granit Xhaka, ex-Nottingham Forest player Remo Freuler, former Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria and Burnley’s Zeki Amdouni.
Hungary have proven to be quite the dark horses in major competitions.
The Magyars proved it against England whom they beat twice across both legs in the Nations League two years ago.
However, the Hungarian national team hasn’t made it past the Last 16 since 1972.
Switzerland, on the other hand, made the Round of 16 in 2016 and the quarter-finals in 2020.
Path to the Euros
Hungary made it to Euro 2024 after winning Group G in undefeated fashion after five victories.
Marco Rossi’s side bested Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria along the way.
Switzerland, on the other hand, finished second in Group I behind Romania.
The Swiss overcame Israel, Belarus, Kosovo and Andorra in the qualifying stage.
Team news
The two teams don’t seem to be dealing with any late injury concerns ahead of their Euro 2024 opener in Germany.
Hungary will get to call upon the likes of RB Leipzig’s Peter Gulacsi, his team-mate Willi Orban, Freiburg’s Roland Sallai, Ferencvaros’ Barnabas Varga and Hajduk Split’s Laszlo Kleinheisler.
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin has quite the golden generation at his disposal which includes the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel, Inter Milan’s Yann Sommer and Monaco’s Breel Embolo.
Ones to watch
Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai enjoyed an impressive campaign with Liverpool.
Szoboszlai, 23, joined the Reds last summer from RB Leipzig following a £60million deal.
The midfielder amassed a total of seven goals and four assists in 45 appearances in his maiden campaign at Anfield.
The Hungarian star has also registered 12 goals in 42 caps with his national team.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka also enjoyed a stunning debut campaign at Bayer Leverkusen whom he led to their first ever Bundesliga title.
Xhaka helped Leverkusen win their maiden domestic Double following an incredible undefeated run that saw Xabi Alonso’s side only losing once in the Europa League final against Atalanta.
The midfielder registered four goals and two assist in 50 appearances this season.
This comes after the Arsenal hero’s 14 goals in 125 caps with the Swiss team.
Head-to-Head
Hungary and Switzerland have faced off a total of 46 times across all competitions.
The Hungarians have won a majority of 30 games while the Swiss count 11 victories.
Switzerland have won all three of their most recent meetings as well as six of their last nine games, of which they only lost one.
This will be the first ever time the two countries face off in the Euros.
SunSport prediction
This really feels like the kind of game that could go either way as they two teams are quite evenly matched, therefore a draw might be the safest bet.
Prediction: 1-1
