In another World Cup qualifier when the focus was off the pitch, John Stones secured an unimpressive draw for England against Hungary. England held to a drab 1-1 draw by Hungary on Tuesday and as a result, their journey to the 2022 World Cup faced a stumbling block.
Regrettably, the game got off to an abysmal start. Hungarian fans and police battled in the stands inside the opening few minutes, with batons and punches flying before things settled down.
England dominated possession on the pitch but struggled to create chances with the ball, falling behind 1-0 midway through the first half. Luke Shaw’s high boot resulted in a penalty, which Roland Sallai converted. England needed a set piece of their own to tie things up. A Phil Foden free-kick found its way to the back post, where a thankful John Stones poked home to draw the game level at halftime.
The second half of the football match began at a similar pace. The ball was in control of England for a long time but asked few questions, all the while Hungary loomed large on the counter. Both teams had good scoring chances. Before Filip Holender could have done much better with a close-range chance, Raheem Sterling came close for the visitors but the overall lack of quality in the final third was evident.
Finally, England was not good enough for this match and had to accept the point they deserved. Check out football highlights of England draw with Hungary in the World Cup Qualifier match.
England 1 – 1 Hungary
Goals: 0 – 1 Sallai 24, 1 – 1 Stones 37
Bookings: Shaw, Schafer, Szoboszlai
England: Pickford, Shaw, Mings, Stones, Walker, Mount, Rice, Foden, Grealish, Kane, Sterling
Substitutions: Saka, Abraham, Henderson
Hungary: Gulaschi, Lang, Nagy, Szalai, Kecskes, Schon, Nagy, Nego, Schafer, Sallai, Szoboszlai
Substitutions: Bolla, Hahn, Vecsei, Holender, Nikolics
