After a roaring start to their trip to Euro 2024, hosts Germany now look to advance to the knockout stage with a match against Hungary in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
Some were skeptical about Germany’s viability to compete for a title in this competition on home soil, given their struggles in the most recent World Cup, but they came alive in the tournament’s opener with a 5-1 victory over Scotland.
The Germans rode a wave of young talent as Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz led their team to victory with the benefit of playing one man up for the entire second half. However, the game was truly decided before Ryan Porteous was sent off, with both scoring within the first 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Hungary were defeated in their start to Euro 2024, beaten 3-1 by Switzerland and put their last-16 chances in jeopardy. They enjoyed a slight turnaround in the second half to get within a goal on the hour but found themselves unable to come back to secure the points. Now, suddenly, a game against one of the best teams in Europe becomes a game where points may be needed to maintain hope of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Germany vs Hungary Prediction, Odds
- Lean Money Line: Germany (-375)
- Score prediction: Germany 2-1 Hungary
Germany were in complete control of their opening match, but the final scoreline surely betrays them slightly and will be almost impossible to replicate again, regardless of the quality of the opponent. They will find this match much more difficult as Hungary has the ability to frustrate quality teams, such as in a 2-1 qualifying win over tenacious Serbia away from home, a 1-0 friendly win over Turkey in March, or a quality 3-0 victory over Israel.
Still, they haven’t played an opponent of Germany’s quality since following a pair of emphatic wins over England and Germany in the 2022 Nations League with a 2-0 loss to Italy in September. It will be too much to ask them to pull off an upset here against a suddenly in-form Euro 2024 host.
