Switzerland kicked off their Euro 2024 journey with a convincing 3-1 victory against a mistake-prone Hungary on Saturday. The match saw first international goals from Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer, along with Breel Embolo scoring upon his return from injury. Aiming for a spot in the knockout stages of their sixth straight major tournament, Switzerland displayed a sophisticated performance, being composed, structured, and swift in attack, while Hungary, considered dark horses of the tournament, committed numerous errors and found it hard to gain momentum. In just his second international appearance, Duah put the Swiss in front with a composed finish in the 12th minute after being set up by Aebischer, who later added a second just before halftime with a stunning curved shot from outside the box following poor defending. Hungary, stunned, showed improvement in the second half, with Barnabas Varga missing a clear opportunity by heading wide. However, he scored in the 66th minute, heading in Dominik Szoboszlai's precise cross, leading to a desperate attempt to rally back, which the Swiss defended strongly, creating several chances themselves. Substitute Embolo secured the win in added time due to another Hungarian mistake, chipping the ball over the keeper, sparking joyous Swiss celebrations.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin compared football to chess, stating, 'Today we got our tactics right. We focused on utilizing our strengths and made it very difficult for our opponents.' Hungary will face Germany and Switzerland will meet Scotland in the upcoming Group A matches on Wednesday.
Hungary coach Marco Rossi reflected on the match, 'The first half was very poor... we were too passive.' He took responsibility for his team's defensive errors, noting, 'It's tough to fix the kind of mistakes we made. Our players don't usually make such mistakes.'
