Published: June 19, 2021 4:36 pm
Last Updated: June 19, 2021 4:37 pm
Hungarian delight along the Danube
Hungary held world champions France at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest in a 1-1 draw that now places the pre-Euro 2020 tournament favorites under threat of not topping Group F. With Portugal and Germany to clash at Allianz Arena in Munich in less than an hour, Cristiano Ronaldo and company have a real chance to take full control of the group of death.
It was hardly a performance to write home about for Didier Deschamp‘s Les Bleus, having expectedly dominated possession (66.5% possession) and generating three-times the chances as Marco Rossi’s Magyarok, with shot-totals on the day ending 15-5. France was wasteful throughout in truth, and despite the headline attacking trio of Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema, and Antoine Griezmann failing to put France up by multiple goals, especially in the first half.
Huge point for #HUN in the Group of Death 💪 pic.twitter.com/m0U8l1XWK7
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 19, 2021
Anything less than a point likely would have been harsh on Hungary, however. Though the numbers paint a picture of French dominance, Hungary performed well on the day as they did similarly against Portugal on match day one, where it took Portugal 84-minutes to break the deadlock and then open the flood gates. Hungary did so well to reach the round of 16 at Euro 2016 with similar performances, and credit must be given to a nation that was not given hope or a prayer in the run-up to the tournament.
France track record should put minds at ease
On the surface, this is a huge disappointment for a France side that is expected to – at the very least – reach the final at Wembley come July, but historically this is hardly all that surprising. France looked comfortable against Germany in their 1-0 win but was still nowhere near impressive, and when Attila Fiola broke free of Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard and then slotted past Hugo Lloris at the near post, many expected France to turn it up a level akin to Belgium’s second-half performance against Denmark, but all they could muster was an equalizer through Antoine Griezmann in the end.
Griezmann brings France back level 🔥 pic.twitter.com/juxhLrmWEo
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 19, 2021
France has been slow starters at tournaments before; multiple times, in fact. Though they reached the final at the 2006 World Cup, a French team that was blessed with Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, and Claude Makélélé labored to two 0-0 draws, and had to rely on a 2-0 win against Togo on the final day of group play to progress to the knockout round.
Similar performances were seen at the 2018 World Cup, where they needed a late own goal against Australia to kick-off group play with a 2-1 win before laboring to a 1-0 win against Peru and a bore 0-0 draw against Denmark.
And the story continues when looking at France at the European Championships as well. Runner-up in 2016, they were hardly stellar during group play, did not top their group in 2012, and despite winning Euro 2000, finished second behind the Netherlands in group D.
Though so many expected France to charge out of the blocks this summer despite being in the group of death, it is not a requirement to top your group to go on to win a tournament. While the wastefulness on display against Hungary is indeed a potential cause for concern as they square off against Portugal in their final group match, minds should still be at ease given the nation’s history of achievement irrespective of early offerings at major tournaments.
