Kickoff chronicles

The final round of Group A saw hosts Germany take on Switzerland in the game for 1st place at the Frankfurt Arena and Scotland play Hungary at the Stuttgart Arena at the same time. The reason behind coordinating kick offs is to stop any match fixing that could take place. Germany only needed a draw against Switzerland while they needed a win to overtake the Germans. In the other fixture, both teams would need to win to give themselves the best shot at qualifying through to the knockouts in 3rd place. 

The first goal to be scored in the evening was at the Frankfurt Arena when Robert Andrich curled the ball perfectly into the bottom left corner from outside the area with just 16 minutes on the clock. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was disallowed as just seconds before, when Jamal Musiala slid in to get on the end of a cross, he collided with Swiss player Michel Aebischer resulting in a foul. Switzerland then went on to shock the host nation and their fans when they found an opener that would this time stand. Remo Freuler received the ball down the left hand side of the box where he looked to cross it. Making a run into the 6 yard area was striker Dan Ndoye who brilliantly side footed Freuler’s ball into the roof of the German net. After having a goal disallowed in his last game against Scotland, Ndoye had finally registered his first goal for Switzerland. 

Over in the tie at Stuttgart Arena, Hungary were dominating Scotland with their best chance coming in the 40th minute when Dominik Szoboszlai floated a free kick to the back post. Charging in was centre back Willy Orban who watched his power header skim the crossbar and fizz out of play. The half-time score finished 0-0. No change to the score line at full time would most likely result in neither team qualifying for the next stage.

Back in Frankfurt, Ndoye almost doubled Switzerland’s lead in double quick time when he got the right side of Rudiger. The German centre back did just enough, pushing him wide as his shot narrowly grazed past the bottom right corner. The score at half time finished 1-0 with Germany needing to comeback if they wanted to claim back top spot in Group A.

In both games, the score lines stayed the same until the 84th minute in Frankfurt when Ruben Vargas put a dagger in the hearts of the Germans as he scored to make it 2-0. As Vargas turned to celebrate with his teammates, he was met with the assistant referee’s flag raised highly in the air. Fabian Rieder took too long to release the ball into the path of Vargas resulting in him being offside as he went on to chip the ball over Manuel Neuer. There was more late drama to come in Frankfurt though as Germany found a late equaliser. David Raum’s cross from the left wing was met by a strong header from super sub Niclas Fulkrug propelling Germany into top spot in Group A with one of the last actions of the tie. It all finished 1-1 with Germany taking 1st place and Switzerland taking 2nd place, narrowly missing out on the much more favoured 1st. 

Over in Stuttgart, Hungary came so close to a winner in the first minute of stoppage time when Kevin Csoboth was released into the penalty area with enough time and space to create a meaningful attack for the Magyarok. He potentially took it too wide though, creating an angle too slim as his shot hit the outside of the far post. There was time for redemption for Csoboth as he snatched victory for Hungary with quite literally the last kick of the game. Roland Salai received the ball down the right wing and used all his energy sprinting to the bi-line. He dribbled into the corner of the penalty area before cutting the ball back. Unmarked at the back post was Csoboth who smashed the ball into the back of the net, writing his name in Hungarian folklore for years to come. The dramatic game finished 0-1, with that late goal potentially keeping Hungary in the tournament. They will need some luck in the coming days but it is not impossible, with 3 points proving enough in prior tournaments. Scotland lost for the second time this campaign and yet again go winless at a major competition. In the knockouts, Germany will play 2nd place in Group C while the Swiss will play 2nd in Group B.

Written by Ollie Wade