Prediction: Hungary vs Switzerland

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 11/5

Bookmaker: Olympusbet

Hungary and Switzerland will launch their Euro 2024 campaigns with a Group A clash at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on Saturday afternoon.

Joining them in Group A are Scotland and the hosts Germany, who will kick off the tournament in Munich on Friday night.

Hungary

Having failed to progress beyond the group stage at Euro 2020, Hungary enters this year’s European Championship with a wave of optimism, with some going as far as tipping Marco Rossi’s team as a potential dark horse for the tournament.

Since the beginning of 2023, Hungary have lost just one of their last 14 international matches. They remained unbeaten in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, securing five wins and three draws from eight games to top their group for the first time.

Ranked 26th globally by FIFA, Hungary are preparing for their third consecutive European Championship appearance. They arrive in Germany after a commanding 3-0 home victory over Israel in their final warm-up match last weekend.

Hungary established their three-goal lead within the first quarter of that match, thanks to an 11th-minute strike from Roland Sallai and a brace from Barnabas Varga, and maintained their advantage to secure a comfortable win. This result provided a timely boost after a surprising 2-1 friendly defeat to the Republic of Ireland just four days earlier.

Hungary aim to begin Group A of Euro 2024 with a win, but they face a challenging opponent in Switzerland, who have won six of the last nine encounters between the two teams.

Team News

Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai was taken off during the friendly win over Israel due to a minor hamstring issue, but this was a precautionary measure, and the Liverpool midfielder should be ready to start in an advanced role alongside Sallai, who is poised to earn his 50th cap.

Rossi is likely to utilize a 3-4-2-1 formation with Ádám Lang, Willi Orbán, and Attila Szalai forming the back line in front of veteran goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

Loic Nego and Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez are expected to play as wing-backs, with Adam Nagy and Andras Schafer anchoring the midfield. Varga, who netted 29 goals for Ferencváros last season, is set to lead the attack.

Switzerland

Saturday’s match will be just the second time Hungary and Switzerland meet in a major tournament, with Hungary winning their previous encounter 2-0 at the 1938 World Cup. However, Switzerland has since triumphed in their last two international meetings, scoring a total of eight goals.

Switzerland, currently ranked 19th by FIFA, faced a challenging Euro 2024 qualification campaign, achieving four wins and five draws in 10 matches, ultimately finishing second in their group behind Romania.

This less-than-convincing qualification run put manager Murat Yakin under pressure towards the end of last year. Despite the scrutiny, the 49-year-old has maintained his role and is now preparing for his first European Championship as the Swiss head coach, supported by a four-match unbeaten run in 2024.

In the lead-up to Euro 2024, Switzerland secured a 4-0 win against Estonia in their first warm-up match and later drew 1-1 with Austria, where Christoph Baumgartner’s early goal was offset by Silvan Widmer.

Yakin’s task is to lead Switzerland into the knockout stages, following the precedent set by his predecessors. Switzerland has advanced past the group stage in the last five European Championships and reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2020, a feat they hope to replicate this summer.

Team News

Steven Zuber sustained a calf injury during the friendly draw with Austria and participated in only an individual training session on Wednesday, making his availability for Saturday’s match uncertain.

On a positive note, Monaco’s Breel Embolo and Denis Zakaria have both recovered from their injuries and joined team training this week, potentially putting them in contention for the matchday squad against Hungary.

Key players such as captain Granit Xhaka, Manuel Akanji, and Xherdan Shaqiri are all anticipated to start, along with Burnley striker Zeki Amdouni, who has netted seven goals in 15 international appearances.

Conclusion

Both teams are aware that a win on Saturday would significantly enhance their prospects of advancing to the knockout stages. However, they’ll also be aware that losing the game would be a damaging prospect in equal measure. Therefore, a cautious approach might be preferred by the two coaches, potentially leading to a tightly contested encounter in Cologne.

Verdict: Draw

Best odds: 11/5

Bookmaker: Olympusbet