England's Hungary horror show sees records tumble

By Sports Desk June 14, 2022

England have set plenty of positive records under Gareth Southgate but, against Hungary, the tables were turned on the Three Lions.

Southgate's team – runners up at Euro 2020 last year – were hammered 4-0 in Wolverhampton in a shock result.

England have collected just two points from their four Nations League matches so far and sit bottom of Group A3.

While fatigue after a gruelling season has played its part in underwhelming displays, it is not the form that Southgate will be content with ahead of this year's World Cup.

With the help of Opta data, Stats Perform has picked out some of the most prominent statistics from one of England's most surprising defeats.

1928 - England have lost a home match by four goals for the first time since March 1928, when they went down 5-1 to rivals Scotland.

2 - Hungary, meanwhile, have become only the second team to beat Southgate's England in consecutive matches, after Belgium did so at the 2018 World Cup.

4 - They are the only team to score four goals in an away match against England since the Hungarians themselves triumphed 6-3 at Wembley Stadium way back in 1953.

1964 - Not since 1964 had England lost by four or more goals. On that occasion, in May of that year, they were defeated 5-1 by Brazil in a friendly. On only one other occasion have the Three Lions lost by at least four goals without scoring, when they slumped to a 5-0 defeat to Yugoslavia in 1958, but that was away from home.

0 - England have failed to win any of their four games this month (D2 L2). Only June 2014, in the build-up to and during the Brazil World Cup, have England played more matches without winning (five).

3 - Roland Sallai is only the second player to have scored as many as three goals against England this century, along with Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic (five), and is the first Hungary player to score twice in an away game against England since both Ferenc Puskas (two) and Nandor Hidegkuti (three) did so in that 6-3 win at Wembley in 1953.

1 - Jarrod Bowen is the first player not to end up on the winning side in any of his first four England appearances (D2 L2) since Ledley King between 2002 and 2004 (also D2 L2).

Related items

  • Kompany targeting Champions League top eight despite stuttering start Kompany targeting Champions League top eight despite stuttering start

    Vincent Kompany is eyeing a place in the top eight of the new Champions League format with Bayern Munich despite back-to-back losses in the competition. 

    Bayern welcome Benfica to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, hoping to recover from defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona, the first time they have failed to win consecutive games in the competition since April 2017. 

    Kompany's started their Champions League campaign with a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb, but have since plummeted down the new league table. 

    They find themselves 23rd after three matches. However, they have fared better in the Bundesliga, sitting three points clear at the top of the table after nine games. 

    "What we know is you have to win around six (of eight) games to reach the top eight," Kompany said. 

    "You have to win three games and that should be enough for the playoffs. My goal is to reach the top eight."

    Bayern last failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in 2002-03, finishing bottom of a group that featured Deportivo La Coruna, Lens and Milan. 

    But despite their stuttering start in the competition so far, Kompany said the new format plays no role in the team's planning. 

    "I don't want to think too far ahead because we have enough games," Kompany said.

    "We have to win against Benfica. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about what could happen in January.

    "No one knows how it will work. We only know we want to win tomorrow. We play at home. That is my only goal."

    Bayern, however, have every confidence of getting their European campaign back on track, with the German outfit boasting an impressive record against Benfica. 

    They have played 12 major European matches against Benfica and have never lost (W9 D3). 

    But Bruno Lage's side will be looking to buck that trend, having beaten Atletico Madrid and Red Star Belgrade so far, but they did lose to Feyenoord last time out. 

    "We have a lot of confidence going into this game. We will always adapt and take the steps that are right for the team," Kompany said. 

    "But to say we will change everything is not serious. We just want to win again at home. 

  • Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash

    Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.

    England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend. 

    Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.

    Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry. 

    The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.

    Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.

    “Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.

    “The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."

    England squad in full:

    George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.

    Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme

  • Benzema: Mbappe must adapt to Madrid role and forget 'best in world' Vinicius Benzema: Mbappe must adapt to Madrid role and forget 'best in world' Vinicius

    Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker at Real Madrid because he cannot displace Vinicius Junior on the left wing.

    Those were the words of Los Blancos' second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema. 

    Mbappe has scored eight goals in 14 appearances in all competitions for Madrid since his move from Paris Saint-Germain, but has failed to score in his last five games. 

    The 26-year-old has been deployed in a more central role since under Carlo Ancelotti, as opposed to the wide role where he enjoyed success with the Parisiens. 

    "The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn't feel right, because that's not his position," Benzema said on Spanish television show El Chiringuito.

    "On the left, he's got a guy who's at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem.

    "You can't play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.

    "Mbappe isn't a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he's under a lot of pressure, this isn't Paris Saint-Germain."

    The France captain has underperformed his expected goals (xG) figure in LaLiga by 1.75 this term, recording a shot conversion rate of just 18.18% from his 33 total attempts.

    He has also missed seven big chances, with only Real Betis duo Abde Ezzalzouli and Vitor Roque (both eight) and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (11) wasting more in LaLiga. 

    In Madrid's last game, a 4-0 Clasico defeat, Mbappe recorded just 27 touches. Only Aurelien Tchouameni (24) registered fewer among those who started the encounter.

    Benzema also endured a difficult start to life in the Spanish capital, netting just nine goals in his 33 appearances in all competitions in his debut season after his move from Lyon.

    He would, however, go on to become one of Madrid's best ever players, scoring 354 times in 648 outings, a total that puts him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (450) in the club's history. 

    Benzema won 25 major honours during his time at the club, also scooping the Ballon d'Or in 2022, and had some advice for his compatriot moving forward. 

    "Don't give up, because I don't think he's going to push Vinicius to move. He's the best player in the world at the moment," Benzema added. 

    "Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he's a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while."

    Mbappe will be back in action for Madrid on Tuesday when they face Milan in the Champions League. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.