Iceland visit the Ferenc Puskas Stadium to face Hungary on Thursday as both sides aim to qualify for next summer’s European Championship.
It’s fair to say that Hungary are on a good run at the moment. Marco Rossi’s side head into this clash on a three-game unbeaten streak and have only lost one of their last five outings.
🇮🇸 Iceland reached the quarter-finals at EURO 2016 in their competition debut 💪✅ Can you name the teams they beat?#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/EpaHT0ZWrV— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) November 10, 2020
🇮🇸 Iceland reached the quarter-finals at EURO 2016 in their competition debut 💪✅ Can you name the teams they beat?#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/EpaHT0ZWrV
Hungary beat playoff opponents Bulgaria 3-1 last month to move to within one game of the European Championship.
Rossi’s side then claimed an impressive 1-0 win against Serbia before holding Russia to a goalless draw in Moscow.
After four games, Hungary find themselves second in their Nations League group – one point behind frontrunners Russia and four points ahead of third-place Turkey.
Hungary narrowly missed out on automatic qualification for the Euros, finishing just two points behind Wales in Group E.
With that in mind, Rossi’s men will be desperate to make amends and book their spot at next summer’s tournament.
On the flip side, things have not been going well for Iceland. Erik Hamren’s side have only managed to win one of their previous five outings.
After losing to England and Belgium in the Nations League, Iceland edged Romania 2-1 to set up Thursday’s showdown with Hungary.
However, Iceland swiftly returned to losing ways. They were beaten by Denmark last month before losing to Belgium again.
Granted, Iceland have been handed a seriously tough Nations League draw. But after four games, they find themselves rock bottom of Group A2 without a single point to their name.
To make matters worse, Iceland have conceded 11 goals across their four Nations League games this year and have only managed to score two in reply.
Head-to-head: There have been 11 meetings between Hungary and Iceland over the years, with Hungary claiming seven wins and Iceland winning three (one draw).
In their most recent encounter, the two nations played out a 1-1 draw in the group stage of Euro 2016, with Hungary benefiting from a late own goal.
Team news: RB Leipzig duo Peter Gulacsi and Willi Orban are a threat for Hungary, making Rossi’s backline tough to break down.
Salzburg midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has racked up five goals and nine assists in 13 appearances in all competitions this term
Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson is the star of the show for Iceland, with follow Premier League star Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) also worth keeping an eye one.
This is destined to be a cagey encounter as both sides big to outsmart each other and book their place and next summer’s tournament.
With so much at stake, Forebet predicts that Hungary and Iceland will play out a tense goalless draw, with extra-time and possibly penalties required to settle the match.