Live match preview – Hungary vs England 04.06.2022

England open their Nations League campaign when they travel to Budapest to face Hungary on Saturday.

With the World Cup finals in Qatar now just over five months away, England manager Gareth Southgate will be keen for a strong showing in their opening Group A3 fixture.

Phil Foden will miss England’s Nations League games with Hungary and Germany after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Manchester City midfielder has been sent home, but boss Southgate says he should be available for the games against Italy and Hungary at Molineux.

Southgate also revealed defenders Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi are injured and will miss out, while Raheem Sterling is a doubt having missed some training sessions.

It means there will be opportunities for others who will want to seize their chance to impress the England manager as Sky Sports looks at the key talking points ahead of the Budapest trip.

Bowen set for his England bow?

Jarrod Bowen’s reward for a fine season at West Ham was a maiden call-up to the England squad and he could be in line for his debut.

The 25-year-old enjoyed an impressive season that saw him score 12 Premier League goals and could start in a three-pronged attack alongside duo Harry Kane and Sterling.

His chances have been helped by the fact Foden will miss the game in Hungary after Southgate revealed the Manchester City forward has tested positive for coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Bowen likened himself to Foden when asked about the competition for places in the forward positions.

“I think one player I look at in terms of similar to me, similarly left-footed, is Foden,” said Bowen.

“The way he moves around the pitch and the way he is on the ball, he is a special, special talent.

“To even be in the same conversation and position with him is special, but yeah, he’s one of the players in there that I look at.”

Kane targets landmark of 50 goals

England captain Kane would like to break Wayne Rooney’s goalscoring record before this winter’s World Cup.

Kane is currently on 49 goals for his country, four behind Rooney’s record of 53, and it is only a matter of time until he overtakes that landmark.

With six Nations League games, including four in the next 10 days, before the Qatar World Cup, the Spurs striker is keen on doing it at the earliest opportunity.

“I’d like to break it as soon as possible, I’d love to score as many goals as I can in the next four games before the World Cup and see where we go from there,” he said.

“But I’m someone who doesn’t let that stuff affect me when I’m on the pitch, I have a job to do, it’s not about goalscoring records and thinking about stuff like that when I’m on the pitch, it’s about the team getting three points and winning the game.

“So of course I’d love to do it as soon as possible but if it doesn’t happen for some reason and it goes into the World Cup then so be it, the World Cup is probably the best competition in the world so I’ll have a lot of focus on trying to achieve that and go on and win that, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Kane will be eyeing up his half-century as England visit Hungary on Saturday, a figure he could only have dreamed of when he made his debut in 2015.

“It seems like a long time ago when I made my debut now, at the time it was just about playing for England, that was one of the best feelings, still is one of the best feelings every time I pull on that shirt,” he said.

“Back then it wasn’t a number I had in my head, of course I wanted to score as many goals as possible and play as long as possible. It all goes so quickly, the major tournaments come around so quickly, the games come quickly and year-by-year you edge up that leaderboard.

“It’s great to be close to 50, obviously I am still a few goals behind Wazza but the most important thing is to go out there and perform for my team and that is what I’ll try and do.”

Trent seeks to stake World Cup claims

This is the first of four Nations League games in June for England, with the lengthy international break coming off the back of a gruelling club season for the players.

Southgate knows what he is getting with Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson, but the jury is still out on several others – including Trent Alexander-Arnold – who must grasp his opportunity to shine.

Germany and Italy encounters next week in Group A3 are followed up by the return fixture against Hungary on 14 June. The Liverpool full-back will only feature in the England camp for the first half of these matches, making it likely he starts at least one of the Hungary and Germany trips.

Having been scrutinised for his role in Vinicius Junior’s winning goal in the Champions League final, the spotlight will again be on the 23-year-old defensive capabilities should he be given the nod but it is more likely he will be rested after his exertions in Paris with Reece James handed the first of these opening round of games.

Southgate forced to be creative at left wing-back

Elsewhere, Southgate has rewarded Conor Gallagher with another call-up while Tammy Abraham and Jude Bellingham will hope to benefit from the hectic schedule to be handed minutes over the come 11 days. Aaron Ramsdale can also expect to feature from the start in at least one of the fixtures.

Southgate is looking forward to getting a closer look at James Justin ahead of the World Cup having been impressed by the versatile Leicester full-back’s recovery from a serious ACL injury.

The absence of Ben Chilwell and Luke Shae means Kieran Trippier or James will play on the left side, despite being naturally right-footed.

Time is running out for fringe players to impress with just one more England camp – in September – before the squad for Qatar is announced, with the tournament starting in November.

In Henderson’s absence, it is like to be Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice in midfield with James Ward-Prowse also competing for selection in this area.

Abraham scored 17 goals for Roma in Serie A this season – the most ever by an Englishman in a single Italian top-flight campaign – so Kane can expect his minutes to be managed.

At this stage, it is unlikely there will be too many left-field choices, so for Gallagher, Justin, Bowen and Abraham, this is a critical camp for them to demonstrate they deserve to be playing at this level against top-class opposition.

Closed doors are prised ajar by Hungary

There are expected to be in excess of 35,000 supporters at the Puskas Arena, despite Hungary being hit with UEFA sanctions.

England travel to the Hungarian capital for the first time since their 4-0 World Cup qualifying win last September, which was marred by racist chanting from home supporters that landed the Hungarian Football Federation with a two-match stadium ban from FIFA.

UEFA has also ordered Hungary to play three games in empty stadiums, the third of which has been suspended, following the behaviour of fans during Euro 2020.

One of those UEFA bans comes against England this weekend, but it is understood the fixture will now be played in front of a crowd in excess of 35,000 as Hungary make the most of the UEFA regulations on behind-closed-doors fixtures.

Although article 73 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations caps the number of VIP guests, team delegations, UEFA staff and those holding complimentary tickets, there is no limit on the number of school children invited to the match free of charge – with one adult accompanying every 10 children.

Southgate professed his “surprise” at the figure, but it will be up to his players to make sure they stick to the task at hand.

England’s happy travels – Opta stats

• This will be the 25th meeting between Hungary and England in all competitions, with the Hungarians failing to win any of their last 15 matches against the Three Lions (D3 L12), since a 2-1 victory at World Cup 1962.
• England are unbeaten in their last six away games (excl. neutral) versus Hungary (W4 D2), while Gareth Southgate could become the first England manager to win consecutive away matches versus Hungary.
• England are unbeaten in their last 22 games in all competitions, winning 18 in the process (D4) – their longest ever unbeaten streak. Indeed, the Three Lions have conceded just six goals in this run and never more than once in a game.
• Four of Gareth Southgate’s 10 defeats as England manager have come in the UEFA Nations League (W5 D3 L4), more than he’s lost in any other competition in charge of the Three Lions.
• Hungary have lost just one of their last nine matches in the UEFA Nations League, picking up five wins in the process (D3). Indeed, they’ve found the net in all six of their home games in the competition (11 in total).