Northern Ireland v Hungary (29/03/2022)

WORDS: LIAM BLACKBURN

FACT FILE: HUNGARY

• The 1930s were the start of a memorable period in Hungary’s footballing history. • Having reached the quarter-finals at their first World Cup in 1934, Hungary went all the way to the final in France four years later. They were beaten 4-2 by Italy in Paris. • Hungary were seen as pioneers in the 1950s when their ‘Golden Team’ revolutionised the way the sport was played. • Between 1950 and 1956 Hungary played 69 games, winning 58 of them and suffering only one defeat . That team is credited with initially introducing ‘ Total Football’, and placing significance on tactics, training and fitness, as they operated in a 3-2-3-2 formation. • Inspired by Ferenc Puskas, Hungary won the 1952 Olympics and then went and beat England 6-3 in front of 105,000 fans at Wembley in ‘ The Match of the Century’. A year later Hungary beat England 7-1 in Budapest , with Puskas scoring twice. It remains England’s heaviest defeat . • Unsurprisingly, Hungary were considered hot favourites to win the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, and expectation only grew when they thrashed South Korea 9-0 and West Germany 8-3 in the group stage. However, after knocking out Brazil and Uruguay, Hungary were stunned by West Germany in the final . • The 1954 World Cup final was known as the ‘Miracle of Bern’ as the West Germans fought back from two goals down to win 3-2. • Hungary qualified for the next three World Cups but failed to make it past the quarter- final stage. Their last appearance at a World Cup finals came back in 1986. • They did manage to win another two Olympic gold medals (1964 and 1968) while also winning a silver medal (1972) and bronze (1960) across four successive tournaments. • After reaching the semi-finals at the 1964 and 1972 European Championships, Hungary next qualified for that tournament in 2016, winning a play-off against Norway and then qualifying top out of a group that included Portugal and Iceland.

INTERNATIONAL • With three Olympic gold medals and two World Cup final appearances, Hungary have an impressive history on the international stage. • Hungary have played Northern Ireland on six occasions, winning the first four of those fixtures. The most recent meetings between the two countries came during the Euro 2016 qualifiers. • It was in Budapest in September 2014 when Michael O’Neill’s side kickstarted a memorable campaign as Northern Ireland came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Niall McGinn and Kyle Lafferty in the final nine minutes. • A win in the reverse fixture in Belfast would have seen Northern Ireland qualify for the finals. However, the Green and White Army had to wait a little longer to celebrate that achievement as Lafferty’s late goal salvaged a 1-1 draw following Chris Baird’s red card. • Prior to that Hungary had beaten teams Hungarians also emerged victorious in both of the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, but they failed to make it out of the group. • Hungary’s first recognised international was a 5-0 defeat to Austria, while their maiden competition was the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. A 7-0 defeat to Great Britain saw Hungary eliminated, but a record 12-0 victory over Russia later that summer hinted at brighter times ahead. • One of their first ever managers was Alfred Hajos, who had previously won two gold medals at the first ever Olympics in 1896 in Athens. Hajos played in Hungary’s first ever international , later coached the team, served as a referee, and went on to become an architect of sports facilities. managed by Sammy McIlroy and Nigel Worthington in Belfast friendlies. The

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NIR V HUN