Switzerland holds on to beat Hungary 3-1 at Euro 2024

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) - Switzerland held off a Hungarian fightback to win its European Championship opening game 3-1 on Saturday.

Goals from Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer - both surprise picks in the starting lineup - left Switzerland in control at halftime but Barnabas Varga’s header put Hungary back in contention.

Breel Embolo made sure of the win when he scored on the counterattack in stoppage time with a lob over the goalkeeper.

Earlier, Duah opened the scoring in just his second game for Switzerland, shooting low past goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi off a pass from Aebischer.

Aebischer made it 2-0 just before halftime, sidestepping away from Attila Fiola to find space on the edge of the box to hit a curling low shot past Gulacsi.

Varga’s diving header in the 66th off Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross brought celebrations for Hungary as some of its black T-shirt-wearing hardcore fans lit flares. Hungary kept Switzerland under pressure after that but couldn’t find a second goal.

Switzerland is second in Group A after host nation Germany beat Scotland 5-1 on Friday in the tournament opener. Hungary had its first loss in a competitive game since September 2022.

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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024