Switzerland got their Euro 2024 off to a winning start thanks to a hugely impressive first half performance from Murat Yakin’s team — and a welcome late return from Breel Embolo.
Hungary battled back in the second half having gone in 2-0 down at the break, halving the deficit through a Barnabas Varga header, but were unable to claw back a point.
There were still some nervy moments for the Swiss towards the end, until Embolo punished Willi Orban for a misplaced header and dinked in a third on his first competitive appearance for a year.
The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead and Nick Miller assess the key talking points…
Switzerland use Hungary rashness to exploit space
In qualifying, Hungary conceded just seven goals from eight matches to finish top of their group and qualify automatically. Over the last six years, Marco Rossi’s organisation has made this team more than the sum of their parts — but his best-laid plans were ripped apart by Switzerland in the first-half.
In theory, Rossi’s 3-4-3 (which became a 5-4-1 out of possession) should have meant Hungary had plenty of players behind the ball — but Switzerland excelled in being patient in build-up, drawing the opposition defensive midfielders wide. This left Remo Freuler and Granit Xhaka with eons of space in the pockets — with roaming left winger Michel Aebischer promptly finding Kwadwo Duah for the first goal after a 22-pass move, the third-longest build-up move in a European Championship since 1980.
Especially in the first half, Switzerland were clever in not going toe-to-toe with Hungary’s physicality, knowing they would likely lose one-vs-one duels — instead they tempted Hungary’s defenders out of the line, Freuler and Xhaka manipulating them with their eyes like quarterbacks.
The position of 34-year-old veteran Attila Fiola was also exploited — he is an aggressive right wing-back, but who now lacks pace, leaving wide spaces for Switzerland’s fluid front three to float into. Both he and opposite wing-back Milos Kerkez bomb forward — meaning that Hungary were open to quick transitions when they lost possession. Aebischer’s goal seconds before half-time came after he drove into a space between Fiola and defensive midfielder Adam Nagy unchallenged — though his whipped strike was unstoppable.
Jacob Whitehead
Yakin’s Duah gamble pays off
Scoring any international goal is pretty good. Scoring a goal at an international tournament is even better. Scoring a goal at a tournament in just your second appearance, with less than an hour of international football to your name is the stuff that fantasies are made of. But that’s what Kwadwo Duah did after just 12 minutes, to give Switzerland the lead over Hungary.
London-born, Swiss-raised Duah was a surprise addition to the Switzerland squad, so when his name was included in the starting line-up by Murat Yakin, it looked like a remarkable gamble from a coach about whom there have been doubts before the tournament.
It was partly a gamble based on necessity: Switzerland’s attacking options are on the light side, to say the least, given that Breel Embolo is only just returning from a serious knee injury and Zeki Amdouni had a tricky season getting relegated from the Premier League with Burnley, albeit with moments of individual excellence. Duah scored goals for Ludogorets in Bulgaria, but that is not a league that generally prepares a player for international football glory.
But this forms part of the charm of international tournaments: you don’t necessarily need to be a big name for 48 weeks of the year to be a star in the other four.
Nick Miller
Duah celebrates his first international goal, and Switzerland’s first of the game (Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)
Embolo makes a welcome return
There will be plenty of heart-warming moments at this tournament, but Breel Embolo scoring Switzerland’s third and clinching goal will be right up there.
The Monaco forward ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee during a pre-season training session last August, training that was itself designed to help him recover from a previous knee injury. He missed most of the season and it was the main reason he didn’t start this game, despite being Switzerland’s most experienced striker.
But as he chased onto Jan Sommer’s long punt up field, the brace he was wearing on that knee slipped off and was left just outside the penalty area, as he ran through to lob Hungary keeper Peter Gulasci. If you want some symbolism, Embolo literally shedding the most obvious physical manifestation of his injury while on his way to scoring, is possibly about as good as you’re going to get.
That he didn’t notice, either in the process of scoring or in celebrating, should probably tell you that he’s back and ready again.
Jacob Whitehead
What did Hungary coach Marco Rossi say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Swiss coach Murat Yakin say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Hungary?
Wednesday, June 19: Germany (Stuttgart), 5pm BST, noon ET
What next for Switzerland?
Wednesday, June 19: Scotland (Cologne), 8pm BST, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: Marius Becker/Getty Images)
