Scotland exited Euro 2024 in the most heartbreaking manner as Kevin Csoboth’s 100th-minute goal secured a dramatic late victory for Hungary.
The Scots, who still had faint hopes of reaching the last 16 with a draw, were caught on the counter-attack, causing chaos in the Stuttgart Arena.
This result means Steve Clarke’s team, who did not manage a shot on target, finish with one point and fail to advance from the group stage once again.
Hungary, despite losing Barnabas Varga to a severe injury, finish third in Group A and still have a chance to progress as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Deja vu descends amid the chaos
Despite the nerve-wracking tension, Scotland’s fans began to hope late in the game.
In the final moments, with a flurry of substitutions, chances emerged where before it had been sluggish.
Scotland’s best opportunity came to defender Grant Hanley just before Hungary’s decisive goal, but his shot was too close to Peter Gulacsi and wouldn’t have counted anyway.
There were also strong appeals for a penalty by Stuart Armstrong, but these led to cries of astonishment as no VAR check was conducted.
Much of the discussion from the first two games focused on the vulnerability of Scotland’s defense, especially on the right side.
However, the lack of any attacking spark has been a persistent issue for Clarke’s team throughout this tournament, and it haunted them again here.
In a match where a win could have cemented their legacy, Scotland could only muster a meager expected goals rating of 0.13.
A series of injuries both before arriving in Germany and during the tournament didn’t help.
But after captain Andy Robertson vowed there would be no regrets following their failure to perform in the last Euros, the sense of déjà vu is unmistakable.
Hungary have hope after troubled times
Moments after the final whistle, the Hungarian players gathered in front of a euphoric sea of red behind the goal.
They held up Varga’s shirt in a united celebration, despite having feared for him minutes earlier after the Ferencvaros forward collided with Angus Gunn.
As painful as the loss is for Scotland’s fans, the Hungarians always seemed more likely to score, especially when Csoboth hit the post in injury time before finding the winner.
Incredibly, Scotland managed to throw away a potentially valuable point while preparing to take a corner with just seconds left.
Their set-piece led to nothing, and they were caught on a sweeping counterattack down a vulnerable left side, resulting in a clinical and decisive goal.
A 14-game winning streak carried Marco Rossi’s team through qualifying, and despite conceding much of the possession to their ineffective opponents, they have somehow kept their hopes of progression alive after two initial defeats.
What they said
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke: “The goal comes as a consequence of us trying to win the game. The goal is almost irrelevant.
“The moment for me was the penalty. It was 100% a penalty. Someone has to explain to me why it wasn’t a penalty.
“I don’t understand how VAR can look at that and say it’s not a penalty.”
Hungary head coach Marco Rossi: “We must wait for the other results. We did what was possible with a bit of luck in the final moments.
“The luck in football, like in life, is important. At the end the result is fair. We cannot say we didn’t deserve to win.”
Match stats
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This was Scotland’s 12th tournament and in 50% of those they have failed to win a match – at the 1954, 1958, 1986 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2020 and 2024.
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Hungary’s goal was the latest ever scored in a European Championship match, timed at 99 minutes and 32 seconds.
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Scotland had just 17 shots at Euro 2024 in total – since the group stage was introduced in 1980, that is the joint fewest by any nation in a group stage, along with Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.
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Hungary ended a run of eight Euros matches without success, registering their first victory since a 2-0 win over Austria at Euro 2016. This was also their first clean sheet since that win.
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There have only been two instances at these finals of a team failing to have a shot in the first half of a match and both have been Scotland – against Germany and Hungary.
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Scotland completed 249 passes in the first half, the most they have had in the first half of a tournament match.
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Grant Hanley completed 69 passes, the most by a Scotland player in a finals game. Hanley also had more touches in the opposition box than any other Scottish player against Hungary (4).
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John McGinn won five fouls, the most by a Scotland player since Christian Dailly at the 1998 World Cup v Norway (6).