COLOGNE (GERMANY) — To many fans’ surprises, Switzerland started their campaign in the European Championship (Euro 2024) with an impressive 3-1 victory over Hungary at the RheinEnergieStadion here on Saturday.
Kwado Duah made a fairytale beginning at the Euros as he scored the opening goal in the 12th minute of the game. Michel Aebischer put the young forward through on goal who calmly put the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal. The goal was originally ruled as offside, but VAR confirmed the goal stood after a check.
The 27-year-old scored the goal in his second-ever start for Switzerland having made his debut 11 days before their tournament opener.
Ruben Vargas got the chance to double his advantage in the 20th minute of the game when he won the ball in the opposition’s box but the chance was left abegging as he hit the ball straight at Gulacsi to keep the score at 1-0.
Switzerland’s chances were not left unanswered for long as Aebischer, the architect of the first goal found himself with the ball outside the box and curled it into the bottom right corner, giving the keeper no chance to make the stop and extend their lead to 2-0.
Dominik Szoboszlai made history on the night as he became the youngest player (23 Years, 7 Months, and 21 days) to ever captain a side in the European Championship. The Liverpool midfielder looked more than ready for the occasion as a cross from the far-left side of the field saw it reach its target and Barnebas Varga got his head onto it to score.
Yan Sommer hoofed the ball up field in the 93rd minute and a mix-up in the Hungarian defense saw Embolo get through on goal. The experienced striker made no mistake and chipped the ball into the back of the net to confirm the 3-1 victory.
Switzerland is now second in Group A behind hosts Germany who have a positive goal difference of four. The Swiss will be looking to confirm their place in the next round when they face Scotland on June 20 (IST).