Hungary hasn’t been in a European Championship since the 70s. They haven’t been at a World Cup since the 80s. In today’s match against Austria, you wouldn’t have assumed this team was considered a heavy underdog. After a quiet first half, the Hungarians took control of the match in the second. Adám Szalai opened the scoring not long after the restart, and shortly after that Austria’s Aleksandar Dragovic was shown a second yellow and promptly sent off.
It was Zoltan Stieber, however, that put the finishing touch on Hungary’s big day. With Austria pushing forward looking for an equalizer, the Hungarians managed to win the ball and start a quick counter. Stieber found himself in acres of space with only one Austrian defender back. A beautiful chip over the Austrian keeper seemed to stay in the air forever before finding the back of the net. At that point, the match was over, and Hungary took a huge step towards making it to the knockout stages.
