Sunday’s Euro 2024 action gets up and running with the Scots, who take on Hungary in a bid to secure a place in the knockouts. Despite just having a single point between them at this stage, qualification is yet to be made impossible for both, so there’s plenty to play for.
Can either team get a win that would give them a sizable chance of featuring in the knockouts? Read on for our Scotland vs Hungary predictions.
Scotland vs Hungary prediction
For the Scotland vs Hungary match prediction, we believe the final score will be 2-1 in favour of Hungary based on our analysis.
Sure, the Hungarians sit pointless in Group A ahead of this final game, while the Scots have a point, and there likely won’t be much between the pair, but with the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Rolland Sallai in their forward-line, they’ve got more about them in terms of real, tangible final-third quality, which could see them edge it.
Our predictions for this crunch Group A clash between Scotland and Hungary are:
Hungary to Win @ 6/4 with bet365
Rolland Sallai to Score @ 3/1 with bet365
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Scotland vs Hungary betting odds
Bet | Odds |
|---|---|
Scotland to win | 8/5 |
Hungary to win | 6/4 |
Draw | 14/5 |
Scotland vs Hungary head-to-head statistics
This will be just the third renewal of this fixture. The pair last met back in 2018, when Scotland won by a goal to nil. Way back in 2004, the Hungarians beat the Scots by three goals to nil.
Scotland vs Hungary preview
This game will be played on 23/06/2024 at MHP Arena in Stuttgart. Kick off is at 20:00 GMT.
After simply not showing up, or rather showing up and shooting themselves in the foot with a worried and altogether self-destructive performance on the opening night, the Scots steadied themselves to deliver an improved effort on match-day two.
That game against the Swiss was a slightly lesser task than taking on the tournament hosts, but they were still up against a good team, so it’s pleasing that Steve Clarke’s men held their own and battled hard for a draw, showing much more at both ends of the pitch.
You could even argue that the Tartan Army were unfortunate not to walk away with all three points as Grant Hanley saw his close-range header clatter off the post mid-way through the second half.
Then again, the Swiss were guilty of a couple of big misses too, so in the end, a draw was probably about right.
That effort certainly gives the Scots hope and it also gives them a platform from which to build, though the question is can they really do enough offensively to get the win that they need? I’m far from all-knowing, but if pushed for an answer, I’d say no, they cannot.
Things look quite bleak for the Hungarians after two games, there’s no denying that. They’ve got zero points, sit bottom of the group and appear to be on their way home.
However, thanks to the way this tournament is now structured, four of the six teams finishing third will go through, and it’s very possible that at least one of those four will head through having only picked up three points, so there’s hope for the 1954 World Cup finalists.
The Magyars come into this third and final Group A game with two losses, five goals conceded and one goal scored, yet looking beyond the bare facts, they’ve not done too badly, which suggests that they could very easily turn things around here against what is clearly their least capable opponents.
They created chances against both Switzerland and Germany, while with the likes of Szoboszlai and Sallai, they’ve got top-level players capable of making things happen in the final third. That could be the deciding factor, at least as far as I’m concerned.
Scotland vs Hungary Betting tips
Far from the easiest fixture to get a handle on, to my eyes, the Hungary win looks a little overpriced, as does a bet on one of their key men to find the net.
Hungary to Win
As touched on above, I think when it comes down to it, the Hungarians have better final-third quality.
They have indeed scored one goal less than Scotland, but their overall offensive play has been superior if you ask me, while they have a couple of very clever and creative forward players, which like it or not, is definitely something that the Scots lack.
Liverpool’s Szoboszlai is quite clearly a top talent and the way in which he created chances, especially for the tidy-looking forward Barnabas Varga, should fill Hungary fans (and those who like me are looking to bet the Hungary win) with hope ahead of this match.
There was little to like about Scotland’s defensive efforts against Germany, while despite only conceding once against Switzerland, they again looked shaky at the back.
Ultimately, this is a shootout between two teams unlikely to make a splash in the knockouts should they get there. Both need to go for it, but one has far more to offer in terms of offensive quality as far as I’m concerned, and I’m not quite sure the early prices mirror that well enough.
Rolland Sallai to Score
Quite rightly, captain and poster boy Szoboszlai gets much of the attention when it comes to this Hungary team, but the Magyars have another very capable attacker, one who has quietly delivered two decent performances against both the Swiss and the Germans.
In each of those first two games, the Freiburg forward, who spent a large part of the previous Bundesliga season playing a role in midfield, looked lively, while not only was he direct in possession, he got into some promising areas off the ball, so don’t be surprised if he comes up with the good against a weaker opponent.
After all, this is a player who averaged 2.69 shots per game for Freiburg in the German top flight last season, despite playing in midfield, while he also averaged an eye-catching 0.39 xG per 90 minutes.
Playing further forward for his nation, Sallai scored two in six during qualifying, while he’s hit five shots at this tournament so far. If he can muster a few more here, I’m betting that one of them hits the net.
Recap - Scotland vs Hungary betting tips
To recap, we’re betting on the following ahead of this Group a decider:
Hungary to Win @ 6/4 with bet365
Rolland Sallai to Score @ 3/1 with bet365
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