STUTTGART, Germany — Jamal Musiala continues to dazzle at the European Championship, proving why his teammates believe the 21-year-old forward could become one of the world’s best players. Musiala scored his second goal of the tournament on Wednesday, helping Germany defeat Hungary 2-0 and secure a place in the knockout stage.
“For me, it’s incredible to play with him. He can do the unexpected in every single situation,” Germany captain İlkay Gündoğan said. “Maybe he’s the most important one at the moment for us and at such a young age as well. And I love him. He’s such a complete player and such a nice guy as well. Very humble. If he keeps doing his thing, he can be one of the best.”
Musiala opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a goal hotly contested by Hungary. Gündoğan, who set up the goal, also scored in the second half to secure the win for Germany.
Musiala had already made his mark by netting Germany’s second goal in their 5-1 victory over Scotland on Friday, kicking off Euro 2024 in style. Hungary, having lost 3-1 to Switzerland on Saturday, now faces a steep challenge to advance.
“He did brilliant in both games,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said. “Not only the two goals, but every offensive proposition he makes is tough for the opponent to defend. He should just focus on his ability to solve any offensive one-on-one situations without worrying about the pressure.”
Hungary will face Scotland in their final Group A match on Sunday, while Nagelsmann’s team will take on Switzerland. Germany is guaranteed to progress to the next round at least as a best third-place team and will secure a top-two spot if Scotland fails to beat Switzerland.
Hungary entered the match unbeaten in its previous three encounters with Germany and put up a formidable fight against the host nation in Stuttgart. However, Hungary coach Marco Rossi criticized the refereeing, feeling it was biased.
“Throughout my career, first as a player and then as a coach, I have never looked for excuses,” Rossi said. “But what the referee did tonight was unacceptable. Even the Germans could see he used different standards. Germany is stronger and would have won anyway, but the referee was the worst on the field.”
Hungary began the match aggressively, nearly taking the lead inside 20 seconds. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to act quickly to prevent Roland Sallai from scoring.
The atmosphere in the stadium intensified whenever Musiala had the ball, and the Stuttgart-born forward broke the deadlock in chaotic fashion. Musiala aimed to set up Gündoğan, but Hungary defender Willi Orbán intervened. Orbán stumbled, which Hungary protested was due to a shove by Gündoğan, and as goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi tried to assist, Gündoğan nudged the ball to Musiala, who scored with Gulácsi still on the ground.
“I was surprised that the Hungarian players were upset,” Gündoğan said. “Having played in the Premier League for seven years, if you called that a foul, everyone would laugh.”
Hungary nearly equalized immediately, but Neuer made a brilliant save on Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick and blocked a follow-up shot with his foot, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Germany appeared to double their lead just before halftime, but Musiala’s shot hit the side netting, leading to brief confusion. Germany solidified their control in the second half, with Maximilian Mittelstädt setting up Gündoğan to score the second goal in the 68th minute.
With this victory, Germany advances confidently into the knockout stages, while Hungary faces a challenging path ahead.
Source: AP