Scotland vs Hungary Match Prediction
European Championship
Stuttgart Arena
Scotland is better placed at the moment than Hungary, as they have points in their tally. They are in 5th place on the 3rd-placed table, and a win would take them to 4 points. Their goal difference is, however, a worry. For Hungary, a lot will depend on how the other teams do because, as of now, they have no points to their name. All they can do is try to win this game by a handsome tally and hope that there are two more teams in 3rd place who are worse off than them.
Hungary’s loss to Switzerland will come to haunt them, as they were easily beaten by Germany on the day. They did create chances, but Neuer was there to deny them. Scotland, on the other hand, got a handy draw against Switzerland, which gives them more of a surety if they win.
Facts:
- Scotland go into this game against Hungary with a relatively good recent record. In the last 3 games between the Scots and the Hungarians, the former ended up winning 2 with the latter having 1 win. Scotland’s only loss to Hungary in these 3 games came in 2004 when they were beaten 4-0.
- A win for Scotland will be massive for them in terms of their major competition. If Scotland wins, then it will be the first time in their history that they will reach the round of 16 of the Euros. Scotland has played a total of 11 games in the Euros and has won a total of just 2 games. Incidentally, however, both those wins in 1992 and 1996 came in the last round of the group stage games.
- Hungary, if they lose this game, will add to a record they do not want to add to. Hungary’s loss to Scotland will mean that they have lost all three of their group games in the Euros, which is a major tournament. They have already lost all three games before this in two major tournaments, with one being the 1972 Euros and the 1978 World Cup.
- Hungary goes into this game with a really poor record when it comes to winning major tournaments, especially against their fellow European opponents. Hungary have won only 1 of their last 17 encounters against European nations at the World Cups and Euros combined. They have drawn five and lost 11 games.
- Scotland have had only a total of six goal scorers score for them in every edition of the Euros they have featured in. Excluding own goals, all of the goals have been scored by players whose surnames start with McStay, McClair, and McAllister in the 1992 edition. McGregor got the solitary goal in the 2020 Euros, and McTominay is the only player until now to score in the 2024 Euros.
Scotland vs Hungary: Chance of Winning
When it comes to the head-to-head record, Hungary has a slightly better record over Scotland in the total games they have played. In the total of nine fixtures played between these two teams in all competitions, Hungary has won four times; two games have ended in a draw, with Scotland winning three. Scotland and Hungary have never, in their history, played a competitive game in a major tournament before. Monday in Stuttgart will be the first time these two clubs will feature against each other in the Euros.
Scotland has had major problems when it comes to attacking teams. They have a serious problem scoring goals. None of their attackers have clicked, with most of the output coming from Scott McTominay. Steve Clarke and his team do need to find a way to add more creativity to this side. Scotland is also not defensively strong enough to protect a lead.
Hungary, on the other hand, has failed to take the chances they create. They do have the incision that a team needs, but the results are not falling into place as of yet. They still have a chance of making it to the round of 16. A win should be enough to take them through, depending on how the other 3rd-placed teams in the groups do. However, we believe, based on the statistics and the eye test, that Hungary has a slightly better chance of winning.
Scotland vs Hungary: predictions and betting tips
According to the bookmakers, Hungary goes into this game as minor odds-on favourites to beat Scotland on Monday. Both Scotland and Hungary have easily been the two worst sides in this group. Hungary has yet to open their account, but Scotland does have a point in their kitty. The bookies, as per their odds, do favour a side massively, but we believe that the odds tilt towards Hungary due to their better style of play in comparison to Scotland.
The Hungarians did perform amicably in their last game against the hosts in Germany. They ended up losing, but they put up a better fight against the Germans than against Scotland. Hungary had no goals to show against Germany, for which they had an xG of 1.01. Hungary, in the buildup to this tournament, has been quite an attacking outfit. In this calendar year, they have averaged a total of 1.7 goals per game.
Scotland performed better against Switzerland in their second game, but creating chances for them is still a worry. They are not free-flowing as a team. Scotland had an xG of 0.76 in the game and scored one goal, showing that they did not worry that much about Switzerland. The Scots, in the buildup to this, have also relied a lot on McTominay, who plays in midfield, to score their goals. They averaged 1.2 goals in the buildup to this competition, showing that their attack is not the best.
Based on these numbers and past fixtures taken into account, here are our tips and predictions for this game. We believe that this game won’t have many goals. Though this will be an elimination for one of these teams, we believe that Scotland’s style of play will make this a cagey affair.
We back both Scotland and Hungary to score in this game. Both teams do have issues in their defence and are prone to conceding. Scotland have conceded a total of 2.4 goals in the build-up to this game. Hungary, on the other hand, has also conceded 1.3 goals per game. Both teams have low clean sheet records as well.
We expect Hungary to win this game by a goal margin. We do see them outright dominating Scotland in this game. In their last game, Hungary registered 11 shots on Germany’s goal. In many spells of the game, Scotland will be expected to sit deep, hence we expect Hungary to have 10 or more shots in this game. Hungary in 2024 will also average 10.5 shots per game.
In terms of scoring for Scotland, we will once again back their top scorer, Scott McTominay, to score. McTominay has been their best attacking player. He was their leading scorer in qualification and scored the only goal for them in this competition. We expect Scotland to make this a scrappy affair, and hence, we see McTominay thriving in these situations. His ability to also do well in set pieces and corners makes him a big asset going into this game.
Willi Orban has been really good for Hungary at the heart of their defence. The defender is the best amongst his fellow squad players in terms of possession won for his team. He has already won the ball on 12 occasions in two games. We back Orban to win the ball back four or more times in this game.
Final prediction:Hungary to beat Scotland.
Scotland Player List
Goalkeepers: Zander Clark, Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly
Defenders: Liam Cooper, Grant Henley, Jack Hendry, Ross McCrorie, Scott Mckenna, Ryan Porteous, Anthony Ralston, Andy Robertson, Greg Taylor, Kieran Tierney
Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Jack, John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay
Attackers:Che Adams, Tommy Conway, James Forrest, Lawrence Shankland, Lewis Morgan.
Scotland Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Angus Gunn |
Goalkeeper |
|
Jack Hendry |
Defender |
|
Grant Henley |
Defender |
|
Kieran Tierney |
Defender |
|
Andy Robertson |
Defender |
|
Anthony Ralston |
Defender |
|
Billy Gilmour |
Midfielder |
|
John McGinn |
Midfielder |
|
Scott McTominay |
Midfielder |
|
Ryan Christie |
Attacker |
|
Che Adams |
Attacker |
Scotland Team Form(Last five games): D, L, D, W, L
Hungary Player List
Goalkeepers: Denis Dibusz, Peter Gulacsi, Peter Szapannos
Defenders: Botond Balogh, Endre Botka, Marton Dardai, Attila Fiola, Adam Lang, Willi Orban, Attila Szalai
Midfielders: Bendeguz Bolla, Mihaly Kata, Milos Kerkez, Laszlo Kleinheisler, Adam Nagy, Zsolt Nagy, Loic Nego, Andras Schafer, Callum Styles.
Attackers:Martin Adam, Kevin Csoboth, Daniel Gazdag, Krisztofer Horvath, Rolan Sallai, Dominik Szoboszlai, Barnabas Varga
Hungary Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Peter Gulacsi |
Goalkeeper |
|
Adam Lang |
Defender |
|
Willi Orban |
Defender |
|
Attila Szalai |
Defender |
|
Milos Kerkez |
Defender |
|
Bendeguz Bolla |
Midfielder |
|
Callum Styles |
Midfielder |
|
Adam Nagy |
Midfielder |
|
Rolan Sallai |
Attacker |
|
Barnabas Varga |
Attacker |
|
Dominik Szoboszlai |
Attacker |
Hungary Team Form(Last five games): L, L, W, W, W
Scotland vs Hungary Head-To-Head
Matches Played:9
Scotland wins:3
Hungary wins:4
Matches are drawn:2
Scotland vs Hungary Betting Odds
Scotland to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.69.
Hungary to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.49.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 3.83.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Hungary
Scotland has no identity in their football, whereas Hungary is like a team that plays in a system. Teams, however, have gone on to win tournaments on the basis of playing football more on the back foot and just staying in the game to find the right opportunity to pounce on. We do back Hungary to win this game 2-1, but this is also a game that could end with Scotland going through. It is a perfect scenario for the risk-takers to take a punt on Scotland on this one.
Parimatch