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Thursday sees Hungary play host to England in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
England currently sit at the top of Group I in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with nine points, but Hungary – who are in second – can leapfrog them with a win here.
Will the Three Lions pick up their fourth win in this qualification group or can Hungary take the scalp of the recent Euro 2020 finalists?
Hungary vs England Head-to-Head
After being drawn in a tough group alongside Germany, France and Portugal, Hungary were never expected to do well at Euro 2020. Indeed, they were eliminated at the first hurdle, but draws with France and Germany meant that they acquitted themselves well.
After an encouraging start to their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, Marco Rossi’s side have given themselves a fighting chance of reaching Qatar next December.
March saw them draw 3-3 with Poland, and they followed that result with wins over San Marino and Andorra.
England will provide a much stiffer test for the Magyars. Gareth Southgate’s side currently top Group I after beating San Marino, Albania and Poland in March, scoring nine goals in the process.
England will also have plenty of momentum behind them coming off their Euro 2020 campaign. They reached their first major final since 1966 at the tournament, and while they came up short, they will now have high hopes of victory in Qatar next year.
Prior to this week’s game, England have faced off against Hungary on 22 occasions. Their famous 3-6 loss in 1953 is still spoken of today, but the Three Lions have not suffered defeat to Hungary since 1962 and have won five of their last six meetings.
Hungary form guide: W-D-L-D-D
England form guide: W-W-W-W-D
Hungary vs England Team News
Hungary
Hungary have called up the majority of their Euro 2020 squad for this game, although a handful of players have withdrawn due to injury concerns.
Injured: Gergo Lovrencsics, Szilveszter Hangya, David Siger
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Adam Nagy
Unavailable: Loic Nego
England
Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has withdrawn from the squad due to injury. Meanwhile, Tyrone Mings is also a doubt after missing Aston Villa’s recent game against Brentford due to a knock.
Injured: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Doubtful: Tyrone Mings
Suspended: None
Hungary vs England Predicted XI
Hungary predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Peter Gulacsi, Endre Botka, Willi Orban, Attila Szalai, Bendeguz Bolla, Andras Schafer, Laszlo Kleinheisler, Attila Fiola, Dominik Szoboszlai, Roland Sallai, Adam Szalai
England predicted XI (4-2-1-3): Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish
Hungary vs England Prediction
With a potentially hostile crowd in attendance, this could be a tricky game for England to navigate. As they showed at Euro 2020, Hungary are no pushovers.
However, man-for-man, England have far more talent on offer and should come into the game full of confidence despite falling at the final hurdle at Euro 2020.
With many of England’s stars already showing good form this season, an away win seems the most likely result here.
Prediction: Hungary 1-3 England
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