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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
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How you voted: Bulgaria vs Hungary

Bulgaria
15.4%
Draw
15.4%
Hungary
69.2%
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Hungary's Roland Sallai celebrates scoring their second goal with Dominik Szoboszlai on October 14, 2023
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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