Hungary lost 3-0 to Portugal in their opening game. Up until the 84th minute they looked to be on their way to an unlikely point, but 3 Portugal goals in a 8 minute blitz saw them run out comfortable winners. In that game Hungary had 5 shots, with 3 on target, 30% possession, they were given 2 yellow cards and took no corners. France beat Germany 1-0 in their opening game thanks to a Mats Hummels own goal. France had 4 shots in that game with only 1 on target, they took 3 corners, had 38% possession and received no yellow cards.
The referee for this game is Michael Oliver (England), who this season has taken charge of 36 games, handing out 113 yellow cards and 4 red cards, for an average of 3.14 yellow cards per game and 0.11 red cards per game. In his career to date he has refereed 339 games, and he has given 1118 yellow cards and 45 red cards, for an average of 3.30 yellow cards per game and 0.13 red cards per game.
With home advantage again on their sire. Hungary take on the World Champions at home, and will have taken some encouragement from their performance against Portugal. Whilst it would be a stretch to say they looked like winning, they were competitive and organised defensively for large parts of the game. I feel that playing against France will likely suit this Hungarian side allot more than Portugal as well. France are deadly on the counter attack and are more than happy to play that way, but they will surely enjoy the lions share of possession here. This is a game that could ask a different kind of question to the French side. If Hungary choose to sit deep, that will almost make the threat of pace irrelevant, as there will be no space in behind Hungary for France to exploit. I feel this is a game where they will rely more on players like Pogba, Giroud and Benzema, as I can see France having allot of possession on the edge of the Hungarian box, and will at times have to rely on shots from distance and crosses into the box. Hungary will again come out with allot of energy as they play in front of a home crowd, but for 84 minute against Portugal they stayed in the game, and that is sure to have taken its toll on Hungarian legs, allot of who will not be used to playing at this intensity, especially on such a short turn around between games. The Hungary squad depth and their fitness will be put to the test here, and i see a similar result to their opening game. At times France will be frustrated but I expect them to come through with a 2-0 or 3-0 win that secures them a spot in the knock out stage..
