Hungary – Belgium

Hungary takes on Belgium in the Euro 2016 Round 16, with the gap in quality between the two teams being huge, but the difference in the level of football being almost non existent so far.

Hungary has been brilliant in these Euros so far. I had them (still do) as the worst team in the competition as far as individual quality is concerned and even if some might not agree, this fact is at least up for debate. Despite the low quality and despite being very poor in the preliminaries, Hungary claimed 5 points in Group F and did it by playing positive, attacking football. Their 3-3 draw with Portugal in the last round was the match of the tournament so far and that will probably not change.

Belgium won 3-0 against Ireland and 1-0 against Sweden after losing the first match against Italy, 0-2. It has been a very good recovery for the Belgians, which looked really solid in the last two group games. Their individual quality is undeniable, but the coaching of Marc Wilmots have been criticized by many experts. He might hurt them in the latter stages, though I`m not so sure he`s a bad manager. So far Belgium did the job and controlled the two matches played against inferior opposition.

Bet on Hungary vs. Belgium and claim your 200% (100€) exclusive bonus at Ohmbet!

Team news & lineups:

Gera and Fiola are questionable for Hungary, while Belgium might miss Dembele again. Most likely, Gera will be the only one of these three who will feature in the starting lineup.

Hungary: Kiraly – Lang, Juhasz, Guzmics, Kadar – Nagy, Gera – Nemeth, Elek, Dzsudzsak – Szalai

Belgium: Courtois – Meunier, Vermaelen, Alderweireld, Vertonghen – Nainggolan, Vitsel – Carrasco, De Bruyne, Hazard – Lukaku

Hungary deserves respect, that is obvious and they shouldn`t be underestimated anymore. However, the low individual quality in the team is a fact. What`s more, a closer look at their road so far shows that they had their fair share of luck. Hungary equalized in the last seconds against Iceland and fended off a colossal Icelandic chance in the last second. Against Portugal, all three goals were scored due to individual efforts from outside the box (which is not likely to happen again). What`s more, Dzudzak`s two goals in the second half were scored due to massive deflections. Those shots would have never found the net, so the match could have been written totally different.

I have massive respect for the way Hungary played, displaying positive football in an otherwise pathetic Euro 2016 tournament – especially as their lack of quality would have justified an ultra defensive style of football. However, I just can`t see them dodging the bullet again against Belgium.

Hungary`s offensive approach should not work well against such a talented team like Belgium. It actually did not work that well against Portugal either, Hungary allowed 3 goals and could have easily lost if they weren`t helped to score themselves by those very lucky deflections. I think the matchup analysis is very important here and I believe Hungary’s courage will end up hurting them.

The Belgians looked pretty solid after that loss to Italy and even though they still seem to lack some tactical consistency, I believe they will have enough to win in 90 minutes against a Hungarian side that will very likely not park the bus. I don`t see an upset here, so my tip is Belgium to win. Prediction: Hungary – Belgium 0-2.

Pick: Belgium
Odds: 1.72 @ Ohmbet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 6.48
Event date: 26 June