MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 16:55:52| >> :600:417917:417917:
[monks data]
Bulgaria national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Nov 16, 2023 at 5pm UK
Ludogorets Arena
Hungary national football team

Bulgaria
2 - 2
Hungary

Delev (24'), Despodov (78' pen.)
Antov (8'), Atanasov (81'), Kolev (86')
Antov (36')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Adam (10'), Petkov (90+7' og.)
Botka (42'), Kerkez (44')
Kerkez (57')

Hungary qualify for Euro 2024 with last-gasp equaliser

Hungary qualify for Euro 2024 with last-gasp equaliser
© Reuters
Hungary score a last-gasp equaliser against Bulgaria to seal a 2-2 draw which books their place at Euro 2024.

Hungary have qualified for Euro 2024 courtesy of a last-gasp equaliser against Bulgaria in Sofia this afternoon.

The visitors went into the match knowing that they simply needed to avoid defeat against Group G's bottom side in order to secure their place at next summer's tournament in Germany.

However, it looked as though they may be forced to wait a little longer when Kiril Despodov put Bulgaria 2-1 ahead from the penalty spot with only 11 minutes of normal time remaining.

Hungary captain and Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai led the charge in search of an equaliser, though, and his free kick in the seventh minute of added time was inadvertently flicked home by Alex Petkov for an own goal which sparked wild scenes of celebrations amongst the Hungarian players and staff.

It was not a moment that their fans could share inside the stadium after a remarkable late ruling caused the venue to be switched from Plovdiv to Sofia just two days before the match, with the Bulgarian FA then making an unprecedented request for their home match to be held behind closed doors - something UEFA allowed.

Bulgaria's Spas Delev celebrates scoring their first goal with Anton Nedyalkov on November 16, 2023© Reuters

The decision contributed to violent protests by supporters outside the ground before the match as home fans demonstrated against the head of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihaylov, with riot police being called in to quell the unrest.

There were disciplinary problems on the field too, with both sides being reduced to 10 men for two bookable offences, Valentin Antov seeing red for the hosts before half time and Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez being given his marching orders for Hungary after the interval.

By that stage it was already 1-1 after Spas Delev had cancelled out Martin Adam's opener, which Szoboszlai also assisted before having a hand in the late drama.

The result sees Hungary become the first team to qualify from Group G, although they could be joined by Serbia this evening if Montenegro fail to beat Lithuania.

The Magyars have now reached each of the last three European Championships, after missing out on 10 in a row before that.

ID:529209:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3720:No Data Analysis info
Game History

How you voted: Bulgaria vs Hungary

Bulgaria
15.4%
Draw
15.4%
Hungary
69.2%
78
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Hungary's Roland Sallai celebrates scoring their second goal with Dominik Szoboszlai on October 14, 2023
Read Next:
Euro 2024 qualifying permutations: Who can qualify on Thursday?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!