Iceland face Hungary in a crucial Group F UEFA Euro 2016 encounter at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille where a win for either of the teams will play a huge role in shaping up the knockout qualification scenario of the group. In their previous fixtures, Hungary trumped Austria 2-0 while Iceland held on to a 1-1 draw against Portugal.
The Hungarians defied all odds to defeat Austria and will be confident going into the match. On the other hand, Iceland, who gave their all against a strong Portuguese team must be thinking that they can stretch the Hungarians as well.
Iceland’s coach, Lars Lagerback, however, has urged his players to ‘keep their feet on the ground’ and be wary of the opposition. “Even though Austria is a good team, I don't think it was a big surprise. There are such small margins when you come to these championships.
“You can progress from a group of death as we did with Sweden once but you can go out also. We're far from that yet. We haven't started climbing any volcanoes yet. We have to keep our feet on the ground and do a good job against Hungary, otherwise we will lose that match."
Hungary’s goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly became the oldest player ever to play in Euros at 40 years of age, 40 years 75 days to be precise. Kiraly, who has previously played for Crystal Palace and Fulham, was praised by his teammate Zoltan Gera.
“When you see him in your team you have no fear, because you know he will do his best all the time," Gera said. "I love playing with Gabor."
The 37-year-old attacking midfielder also talked about his side’s chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds.
"It's a great start, and if we don't lose to Iceland we have a real chance to go through. But we are not finished yet, we have to keep going, keep pushing, and hopefully we can win against Iceland."
Live Stream and Kick-off time
The match will be live from 21:30 IST (Saturday), 17:00 BST (Saturday). Watch live streaming of Iceland vs Hungary on SonyLIV. Follow Iceland vs Hungary, Euro 2016 Live Score and Commentary with Sportskeeda. The match will be telecasted live on Sony Six and Sony Six HD in India, Fox Sports in the USA and Premier Sports in the UK. The match will be played at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.
Team News
Iceland, in all likeliness, will field the same XI which started the match against Portugal. Birkir Bjarnason, who scored the equaliser for his team in the last match, will try and replicate his performance of the last match. He will start on the left flank and Gylfi Sigurdsson will also play a key role for the Iceland team. Hannes Thor Halldorsson was impressive in their previous match with 8 saves and will want to give a performance of the same level.
For Hungary, right-back Attila Fiola’s fitness will be assessed by the medical team before the match and striker Gergo Lovrencsics’s knee injury might keep him out of the starting XI again.
Probable Line-Ups
Hungary – Király; Lang, Guzmics, Juhász, Kádár; Gera; Dzsudzsák, Nagy, Kleinheisler, Stieber; Priskin
Iceland – Halldorsson; Sævarsson, R Sigurdsson, Árnason, Skúlason; Gudmundsson, G Sigurdsson, Gunnarsson, Bjarnason; Sigthórsson, Bödvarsson
Form guide (Most recent first)
Hungary: WLDDW
Hungary have a decent record in their last five matches. While they have lost one match, against Germany in a friendly before the tournament, they have been unbeaten in the other four. Their most recent win against Austria will give them a lot of confidence.
Iceland: DWLWL
Iceland have had a mixed run of form. They have lost twice and won twice in their last five matches.
Head to Head record
Hungary and Iceland have faced each other 10 times before this match and surprisingly none of the matches have ended in a draw. The Hungarians have won seven of the ten matches while Iceland have won three.
The last time Iceland defeated Hungary, it was in 1995, in a Euro 1996 qualification match. Since then, Hungary have beaten them five in a row. Certainly, Hungary would want to continue the run and Iceland will want to end the streak and take all three points from the game.
Match Prediction
If Iceland play with same zeal and passion with which they played against Portugal they might be a hard nut for Hungry to crack. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s set-piece prowess might be dangerous for the Hungarians as well. Though Hungary played out of their skins to trump Austria, this match might become a tricky one for them and the country with the smallest population in the tournament will go on to win the match. Our prediction is a 2-1 scoreline for Iceland.
