A hungry Hungary side on Saturday at the Puskas stadium in Budapest stalled world champions, France and postponed their qualification for the knockout stage till the last group match after forcing the Les Blues to a one-all draw.
It was a but of struggle for France to break down a determined Hungary side and they'd rue missed chances by Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema, who both squandared chances to kill the game for France.
Held back in the own half for most of the first period, Hungary took the lead in additional time in the first half through Attila Fiola in a sensational counterattacking move.
Last year's finalist, France, had to wait until after the hour mark, in the 66th minute to finally level up through Antoine Griezmann following a poor defensive play by Hungary and a resilient Mbappe effort.
Here are three things we learnt.
*1. Determined Hungary
Hungary came into the game more determined to get something off the world champions and could have even gotten all three points.
In their first game against defending champions, Portugal, they held of the star-studded side until the closing stages when their resilience was broken and gave away three goals, including a penalty.
The beautiful part of the setup is that they not only are disciplined in their defending, they also possess threats on their attack, as they seem to always want to score going forward.
This is a commendable effort for a team that was not given any chance given the group they found themselves and to think that they still have a chance at qualification if they beat Germany in Munich in their final group game is highly commendable.
They continue their fine form of not losing a European championship game in which they have scored first, stretching to four games; two wins and draws each.
They also have their goalkeeper, Peter Gulasci to thank for his outstanding saves in the first two matches.
Does Hungary stand a chance of progressing to the knockout round?
2. Star-struck Les Blues
While the bravery of the Hungarian side must be praised without mincining words, it was hard to identify what was wrong with the French side as they struggled to carve their opponents open.
Aside from this unusual struggle which has not been seen in the French side for a long time, they were profligate in front of goal as well, with Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema both culpable.
Both strikers are yet to open their accounts at this tournament, despite coming in from an impressive season with their respective clubs
Do you think France will bounce back?
3. Dembele's Woes
Barcelona fans watching the game yesterday must have been wondering if the Ousmane Dembele that wears the Barcelona shirt is different from the one that played yesterday.
He came on just before the hour mark and two minutes later, struck the woodwork. His directness of play also caused the Hungarian backline problems.
As has been at Barcelona, however, the 24-year old who himself was a substitute was replaced again in the 87th minute after looking to be struggling with his muscles.
Dembele is yet to hit full strides and show a replica of what attracted Barcelona when they signed him up in 2017. A string of recurrent injuries have limited his playing time, a cause of concern for both player and club.
What do you think could be Dembele's problem with the recurring injuries?
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