3 days Ago By By JAMES ELLINGWORTH - AP Sports Writer
Dominik Szoboszlai scored a penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time to deny Germany a victorious end to the Nations League group stage and show why Hungary is one of the hardest places to win in world soccer. Germany, already assured of a quarterfinal spot, was on course to win thanks to Felix Nmecha's goal but the game took a late twist when Mihaly Kata's shot ricocheted off Robin Koch's arm as the German defender tried to turn away. After a video review, Szoboszlai stepped up to take the penalty and chipped it over goalkeeper Alexander Nübel to salvage a 1-1 draw for Hungary, which ends Group A3 third of four teams.
That preserved Hungary's unbeaten run at home, which now stretches to 13 games over more than two years since June 2022 and a loss to Italy in the previous edition of the Nations League. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said he would “never have given” the penalty in comments to broadcaster ZDF and questioned whether watching “48 slo-mos” of an incident actually led to better calls. Nagelsmann argued that Hungary's joy after leveling the score reflected Germany's improved stature as a team after a strong 2024.
“If you see today how Hungary is celebrating this 1-1, that's a little distinction for our team too,” he said. Germany's much-changed team struggled to generate many chances before Nmecha scored on a rebound at a corner in the 76th minute. Nübel, who's seeking to cement his place as Germany's top goalkeeper in the absence of injured Marc-André ter Stegen, was kept busy with dangerous Hungarian counterattacks.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann used the game to experiment with his squad. Nmecha and forward Chris Führich both had their first international starts, while Julian Brandt had his first Germany game for a year. Still, there wasn't a place for Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who was called up to the Germany squad for the first time this month.
The Nations League quarterfinal lineup was already decided before Tuesday’s games kicked off, with Portugal, France, Germany and Spain as group winners and Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark qualifying as runners-up. The draw is Friday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland and the quarterfinals will be played in March. For the Netherlands, a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina ends a year filled with success, disappointment and controversy .
Ronald Koeman's team reached the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time in 14 years and was eyeing a first European Championship final since 1988 — but then came Ollie Watkins' stoppage-time goal to put England through instead. In Zenica on Tuesday, Brian Brobbey celebrated his first goal for the Netherlands with a header at a corner, but Ermedin Demirovic leveled for Bosnia-Herzegovina with a header of his own midway through the second half. There were yet more goals for Viktor Gyökeres — arguably the most in-demand transfer target in European soccer right now — as Sweden demolished Azerbaijan 6-0.
Gyökeres scored four goals, including one within seconds of Azerbaijan kicking off following another Sweden goal, and he overtook Norway's Erling Haaland to end the group stage as Nations League top scorer with nine from six games. Gyökeres' fellow forward Dejan Kulusevski finished with two goals after not having scored for the national team in more than a year. Elsewhere, Wales won promotion to the top tier of the Nations League thanks to a 4-1 win over Iceland and a surprise 3-1 loss for group rival Turkey against Montenegro in a game played in driving rain on a muddy field.
The Czech Republic was also promoted to the top tier after beating Georgia 2-1 in a rematch from the group stage of Euro 2024. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer.
