EURO 2024: Germany reach knockout stage after beating Hungary
Germany reached the EURO 2024 knockout stage after beating Hungary behind goals from Jamal Musiala and skipper Ilkay Gundongan on Wednesday.
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GERMANY REACH EURO 2024 KO STAGE AFTER BEATING HUNGARY
Hosts Germany reached the knockout stage after beating Hungary, 2-0, behind Musiala and Gundongan’s goals in Stuttgart.
Musiala opened the scoring for the match with a goal in the 22nd minute.
Furthermore, that shot was protested by Hungary to no avail.
Gundongan then converted an assist by Maximilian Mittelstaedt into another Germany goal in the 67th minute.
Interestingly, it was also Musiala who landed Germany’s goal in its 5-1 thrashing of Scotland on Friday.
GUNDONGAN LAUDS MUSIALA AS GERMANY REACH NEXT ROUND
Gundongan lauded Musiala in Germany’s latest win, as he described him as the “most important one” in the team.
“For me, it’s incredible to play with him, he can do the unexpected in every single situation,” Gundongan said of his teammate.
“Maybe he’s the most important one at the moment for us and at such a young age as well,” he added.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann praised Musiala for playing well under pressure.
“I think it’s important for him not to deal with the pressure, just to deal with his capability to solve any offensive one-on-one situations,” Nagelsmann said.
HUNGARY COACH ROSSI SLAMS REFEREE DECISION IN ALLOWING OPENING GERMANY GOAL
Hungary coach Marco Rossi, meanwhile, slammed the referees for its decision to allow Germany’s opening goal to be counted.
Rossi claimed a foul was not given for a challenge on defender Willi Orban prior to Musiala’s opening goal.
“I’ve never complained in my career as a player or coach, I’ve never looked for excuses,” Rossi said.
“But what the referee did tonight… the referee used was a double standard,” he added.
Rossi also cited the lack of intervention of video assistant referees regarding Musiala’s goal which was only briefly checked by VAR.
“I told my plater they have nothing to regret. Germany for me is the big favorite to win the Euros,” the coach said.
