Didier Deschamps praised Hungary for producing "the match of their lives" in Saturday's Euro 2020 clash and says France must be satisfied with the 1-1 draw at Puskas Arena.
Attila Fiola's strike just before half-time put the hosts, who were backed by a raucous crowd of around 61,000 spectators, on course for a famous European Championship victory.
France squandered a number of chances before that opening goal and hit the post through substitute Ousmane Dembele, but they did eventually find a way through.
A long pass from Hugo Lloris was met by Kylian Mbappe, who teed up Antoine Griezmann with the help of a scuffed Willi Orban clearance for his strike partner to fire home.
France would have booked a place in the knockout stages with a victory, but their failure to find a winner means that the world champions are left waiting on their last-16 spot.
Hungary frustrated Portugal before ultimately losing 3-0 earlier this week and Deschamps insists there is no shame in being held by a side ranked 37th in the world.
"Hungary put on the match of their lives. Good for them," Deschamps told beIN SPORTS.
"We had chances in the first half and found ourselves behind to their only opportunity. They had a lot of support and that clearly gave them strength.
"They defended really well, as they did against Portugal until late on. It's a point. It's not what we hoped for but given the context, we will take it anyway."
France beat Germany 1-0 in their opening Group F game and still have Portugal to face in the final round of fixtures next week.
"It is an important point today because it leaves the cards in our hands for the last game," Deschamps added.
"There are things to improve and I knew we were not going to crush every team, even after playing a good game and beating Germany.
"Our objective is to qualify for the next round and we've still got a bit of leeway with our four points, even though we'd have liked to come out of this game with six."
Asked if changes will be made for that showdown with fellow heavyweights and reigning European champions Portugal, Deschamps gave little away.
"Maybe," he said. "The next game will be important. I might shake things up as fresh legs can be important. With the temperature as high as it was today, it was very difficult."
Dembele looked lively after being brought on shortly before the hour mark, but he was replaced by Thomas Lemar just 30 minutes later.
He was holding the back of his leg when leaving the field and Deschamps has confirmed the Barcelona forward sustained another injury.
"It's a blow to his tendon, behind the knee," Deschamps said at his post-match news conference. "We will have to check, but he was in enough discomfort to come off."
France are unbeaten in nine matches at major tournaments, although Saturday's draw ended their five-match winning run at such competitions.
It is the first time Hungary have avoided defeat to France in any competition since May 1976, ending a five-game losing run against Les Bleus.
The Magyars are still in with a shot of advancing from Group F with a trip to Germany to come and head coach Marco Rossi is delighted by the effort put in by his players so far.
"I can only thank the team," Rossi told M4 Sport. "They played an exceedingly good tactical match and carried out their business with the correct amount of bravery and heart.
"Nowadays, many coaches are convinced that the team wins because of the coach's tactics. They're wrong. The players are always the lead characters. Today they performed.
"We knew there would be difficult moments during the match, when things didn't go as we wanted, but we're working to cope with those.
"We possess players who are committed and work hard every day to improve themselves. We have our limits, but it really augurs well for the future."
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
