There is that scene in Steven Spielberg’s classic movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones opens the Well of Souls to find a pit full of vipers, cobras and asps. “Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” said our rueful hero, and that is probably how Gareth Southgate and his players might have felt last night upon learning, after a night of twists and turns, they will have to overcome their long-time tournament nemesis, Germany, if they are to end 55 years of hurt.
For a while on a rain-soaked night in Munich, it looked like Germany would not only not be England’s opponents at Wembley next Tuesday, but out of the tournament altogether. Hungary were magnificent and, having eventually surrendered the lead they had fought so hard to keep, recovered to restore their advantage within 91 seconds of Germany equalising. But Leon Goretzka’s goal six minutes from time ensured Germany avoided exiting back-to-back tournaments at the group stage to set up a mouthwatering contest at Wembley against the country they just love to torment.
Hungary’s refusal to accept the role of Group F’s whipping boys spoke volumes both for their fight and Marco Rossi’s system. They had shut out Portugal for 83 minutes and led the world champions France for 65 minutes and, once they had rode an early storm of German pressure to take the lead with a goal everyone would be salivating over for days if Spain had scored it, they frustrated their illustrious opponents with diligence and organisation.
Whether they could do so for another 45 minutes was the question. Rossi is Italian-born and this Hungary side are well drilled in the arts of catenaccio, but their approach was about more than defending deep in numbers.
Hungary were determined to spring the counter-attack and there was no more vivid illustration of that than Adam Szalai’s goal. That it was fashioned by a player who plies his trade at Freiburg and finished by a man who leads the line for Mainz will only have added to German dismay. Matthias Ginter’s pass was cut out by Szalai and that was the cue for Hungary to begin their beautifully constructed assault.
Laszlo Kleinheisler picked up possession and fed the artful Roland Sallai, who swept the ball out to Loic Nego on Hungary’s right before receiving the ball back. Germany were on the back foot, but it still required an audacious pass of unerring accuracy from Sallai to penetrate Joachim Low’s back line before Toni Kroos could smother him and a perfectly timed run between centre-backs from Szalai to elude Ginter and Mats Hummels.
Having done that, Szalai then had the composure to stoop and head low past Manuel Neuer’s left hand.
When Joshua Kimmich latched on to a lovely ball in behind Attila Fiola to force a good save from Peter Gulacsi inside five minutes, you wondered if Germany’s wing-backs were again going to wreak havoc, as they had done in the 4-2 thumping of Portugal. But the biggest compliment you could pay Hungary was they stymied Germany down the flanks and backed themselves to deal with any threat through the middle.
Still, Germany had their moments, and perhaps if Hummels’ header from a corner by Kimmich had found the net and not the bar – or Ginter not shot straight at Gulacsi in the next phase of play – shortly after Hungary went ahead, perhaps things would have got trickier a whole lot sooner for Rossi’s men.
As it stood, Germany were being made to look ordinary and in need of a piece of good fortune. After 66 minutes, they got it. Gulacsi had been excellent, but when Kroos whipped in a free-kick, the Hungary goalkeeper rushed out to meet the ball and missed it, allowing Hummels to head towards goal where Kai Havertz nodded in on the byline.
It was incredibly harsh on Hungary, but they are not the sort of bunch to wallow in self pity and, just over a minute and a half later, they were back in front amid scarcely believable scenes. Hungary got the ball forward quickly. The ball was prodded through to Szalai, who stabbed it in behind for Andras Schafer to chase ahead of Leroy Sane. Neuer raced out but Schafer got to the ball first, heading it past the goalkeeper with little concern for taking a whack in the process.
Suddenly, Hungary’s dream was alive again.
Germany, though, seldom know they were beaten and when it mattered most, they found a way. Jamal Musiala wriggled his way in behind Hungary’s right side and pulled the ball back to Timo Werner to find Leon Goretzka to lash a shot home with the help of a slight deflection.
Agony for Hungary. Sheer relief for Germans. And, no doubt, a sense of familiar foreboding from England.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]