Stuttgart: Goals from Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan gave Germany a comfortable 2-0 win over Hungary in Group A on Wednesday that made the host nation the first side to qualify for the knockout stage at Euro 2024.

With two wins out of two, the Germans are guaranteed to be at least among the four best third-placed teams.

Musiala gave the Germans the lead in the 22nd minute after some horrendous Hungarian defending led to the ball being poked into his path by Gundogan, and the 21-year-old needed no second invitation, hammering the ball in via a defender.

Roland Sallai had a goal ruled out in first-half stoppage time for Hungary and they wasted a number of other decent chances before Gundogan scored in the 67th minute with a simple finish after a superb build-up to wrap up the three points.

Despite the defeat, Hungary were very gallant, a major improvement from the first match which they lost to Switzerland 3-1. They have a system they believe in and had some opportunities, could have been a different story if they had taken one. They will defintely go into their next match with a bit of confidence.

Germany have had some disappointing major tournaments recently but it has gone very smoothly so far. Wednesday’s was a hard-earned win and supporters in the stands were appreciative of the performance, giving a big cheer after the final whistle was blo­wn, waving their flags proudly. Hungarian fans were also dancing on their end.

Germany can now afford to rest a few and bring in some squad players in the final group game against the Swiss on Sunday.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was perhaps busier than he might have expected, having to react to deny Dominik Szoboszlai from a free-kick. Joshua Kimmich did have to clear off the line late on as Hungary looked for a way back into the game, but they were unable to break down the host nation.

Talking about Musiala, Hungary never worked out how to stop him. His was a
performance of the highest quality.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann also has timed his substitutions well in both games.

Written with inputs from Reuters