0–4

0-1 (18) Rupert Marko
0-2 (57) Ralph Hasenhüttl
0-3 (80) Rupert Marko
0-4 (87) Rupert Marko

International friendly
Video: Goals
Tue. 17 May 1988
Kick-off: 6.00pm
Népstadion, Budapest
Att.: 4,900
Ref.: Adolf Prokop (DDR)

Preview

This was the 128th meeting between the two neighbours, and Hungary v Austria is one of the most played fixtures on the European football calendar. To mark this occasion, the Népstadion was seen with a big “128” grass formation covering the entire centre circle.

Three years had passed since their previous meeting. They had been in the same qualifying group ahead of the last World Cup, Mexico ’86, and the Hungarians had triumphed in both matches: 3-1 at home and 3-0 in Vienna. There were no survivors for either side from the last time Austria had defeated their neighbours in Budapest: a March 1982 friendly, where legends such as Hans Krankl and Walter Schachner had both struck for the visitors in a 3-2 win. Schachner was still playing abroad, finishing the season with Avellino in Serie A with nine league goals to his name, despite his club’s failure to remain in the top flight. Along with fellow Italy based forward Tony Polster, also nine goals, with Torino, Schachner was not in the squad for this fixture. The Italian league had had its last round of fixtures only two days earlier. Another forward missing was Andy Ogris, who was out injured. This had meant Peter Pacult would be in the starting eleven for the very first time, despite featuring in his 12th international. There was also a first start and a third cap for foward partner Rupert Marko, and the only striker option on the bench was 20 year old Ralph Hasenhüttl, who had yet to make his debut.

Hungary had had a topsy-turvy qualification campaign for the 1988 European Championships, where they had finished third behind easy winners Holland and runners-up Greece. They had won three out of four on home soil, including 5-3 against Poland and an impressive 3-0 against Greece. Yet, manager József Garami had been relieved of his duties after only a few matches in charge in the latter half of 1987. For the spring of 1988, the Hungarian FA had appointed former international László Bálint, who had participated in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and who had played three years abroad, in France and Switzerland, at the end of his career. Bálint’s record of two wins, two draws and a 3-0 defeat in Belgium was promising, and there must have been a relatively decent mood in the Hungarian camp ahead of this friendly.

In their most recent match, played only a week earlier in the same stadium, Hungary had come close to winning against Denmark, who had scored their equalizer for 2-2 in the 90th minute. There had been a few players with whom Bálint had kept faith so far in his tenure: central defensive pairing Attila Pintér and Tibor Balog, as well as midfielders József Fitos and György Bognár perhaps the most eye-catching quartet. They would also be able to call upon the experienced Imre Garaba, now featuring for French second tier outfit Stade Rennais, and his midfield compatriot Lajos Détári, the playmaker for West German Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt. However, manager Bálint’s tactics would remain a big question mark from start to finish in this match, which would indeed prove to be his final one in charge of the Hungarian national team. His version of 4-4-2 appeared to be a very transparent one, something which the visitors would take advantage of.

50 year old Josef Hickersberger had been put in charge of the Austrians following their (expected) failure in reaching the European Championships of ’88. One point out of a possible eight from four matches against Spain and Romania had been a disappointment, and this was enough to see their football federation sack Yugoslav manager Branko Elsner. ‘Pepi’ Hickersberger had so far seen a win, a draw and a defeat since the turn of the year. He would employ man-marking tactics in both defence and midfield to deal with Hungary’s biggest individual threats.

Referee was fine East German Adolf Prokop, a 49 year old who had officiated in three successive major international tournaments starting with the 1980 European Championships, as well as the Cup Winners’ Cup final in ’84. This was his 25th international, and it had been touted as his final one. However, he would continue for one more match later in the year. He had also been the man in the middle for Austria’s exciting 2-2 draw with Northern Ireland during the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

It was a shame only around 5000 people had turned up, an abysmal figure for this fixture between historic rivals.

Hungary (4-4-2)

NameNotesAgeClub
1 Péter Disztl28Honvéd
2 Sándor Sallai28Honvéd
3 Attila Pintér22Ferencváros
4 János Sasssub 66′22Honvéd
5 Tibor Balog22Vasas
6 Imre Garaba (c)29Stade Rennais
7 József Kiprich24Tatabánya
8 József Fitossub 85′28Honvéd
9 György Bognár26MTK Budapest
10 Lajos Détári25Eintracht Frankfurt
11 István Vincze 27′, sub 57′21Tatabánya

Substitutes
13 József Kelleron 85′22Ferencváros
14 István Kozmaon 66′23Újpest Dózsa
16 Márton Esterházyon 57′32Casino Austria
Manager: László Bálint

Austria (3-5-2)

NameNotesAgeClub
1 Klaus Lindenberger30Linzer ASK
2 Kurt Russ23First Vienna
3 Robert Pecl22Rapid Wien
4 Anton Pfeffer22Austria Wien
5 Heribert Weber (c)sub 81′32Rapid Wien
6 Manfred Zsak23Austria Wien
7 Rupert Marko24Swarovski Tirol
8 Peter Artner 27′, sub 81′21Admira/Wacker
9 Peter Pacultsub h-t28Swarovski Tirol
10 Ernst Baumeistersub h-t31Admira/Wacker
11 Gerald Willfurth25Rapid Wien

Substitutes
12 Peter Schöttelon 81′21Rapid Wien
13 Peter Stögeron h-t22First Vienna
14 Jürgen Werneron 81′26VOEST Linz
15 Ralph Hasenhüttlon h-t20Grazer AK
Manager: Josef Hickersberger

Tactical line-ups

First half.
Hungary came in a 4-4-2 which looked like it was something they had picked up from the local flee-market. A few players did not seem to have been particularly well drilled into their roles, and both full-backs were very attacking, leaving their central defence at times dreadfully exposed. Among their central defenders, libero Pintér remained inside his half for practically the entire half, whereas his partner Balog would come up for set-pieces. Garaba, in what will have been the more defensive of the four midfield positions, might have been told beforehand to sit back if one of the full-backs decided to come forward, and it could even have been so that Bálint had allowed for both full-backs to come forward at the same time, telling Fitos to do a second holding job. In theory it might have been all good, but in practice it didn’t work as effectively. Détári and Bognár did hardly contribute inside their own half in a defensive capacity at all, and inside the opponents’ half they were always shadowed by each their designated player. The same applied for strikers Vincze and Kiprich. Among the two, Vincze, perhaps surprisingly, mainly was found as the right-sided attacker, with Kiprich operating more towards the left.

Austria were at 5-3-2. Manager Hickersberger had decided to go with man-marking tactics, which would apply for both the Hungarian strikers and their two attacking midfielders/playmakers. Pecl would look after Kiprich, with Artner keeping an eye on Vincze, something which did perhaps seem to draw the pair out of their prefered position, where Artner would be to the right of centre, Pecl as the left-sided central defender. But this had shifted according to the position of the Hungarian strikers.

In the Austrian midfield, Zsak would rarely let Détári have any space, whilst Russ attended to Bognár, the so-called ‘second playmaker’ for the hosts. In the wide roles were Willfurth (right) and Pfeffer respectively, with the latter at times bombing forward full of energy, while Willfurth was more reserved in his approach, yet he also would contribute when Austria decided to break forward. The experienced Baumeister sat in the centre of their midfield. And up front Pacult and Marko would be seen switching sides every now and then.

Second half kick-off time:

At half time, the visitors’ manager had chosen to replace limping forward Pacult with the powerful figure of debutant Hasenhüttl, something which would lead to greater aerial presence up front for the Austrians. Not that they would use this feature much apart from through set-pieces, because they would mostly be looking for Marko’s pace when breaking forward. There had also been a change in the centre of midfield, where Stöger had come on in Baumeister’s place. This switch did seem a positively-thinking one, as Stöger was more willing (and capable?) to lead charges of attack from a more advanced position than the one which Baumeister had held during the opening 45 minutes. At the same time, Zsak and Russ were still deployed as man-markers against Détári and Bognár respectively, but in particular Russ seemed more lenient with allowing his opponent space after the break, not sitting so tight to his man as he had done in the opening 45, and thus providing another midfield outlet; another alternative for his team mates when looking for passing options.

Of the two Hungarian strikers, Vincze had clearly opened as the right-sided of the two, with Kiprich operating towards the left of centre. However, this would change during the course of the opening half, where the pair would soon take up their more prefered positions to the right (Kiprich) and left (Vincze) respectively. For the start of the second half, there was little doubt these roles had been further cemented, and still with Artner shadowing Vincze, Pecl doing the same on Kiprich.

Within the halfway point of the second half, the home side had also brought on two substitutes: forward Esterházy was a straight replacement for Vincze, though with Esterházy also seemingly enjoying life towards the right of centre, Kiprich’ prefered territory, there would be positional switches between the two strikers. However, whereas Pecl would continue shadowing Kiprich throughout the course of the match, Artner would no longer have a designated man to attend to after Hungary had withdrawn Vincze, thus freeing up the central defender to even join in going forward. He would play a leading role in the visitors’ third goal. The other substitution had been when Sass was replaced with Kozma on the left hand side. It was another straight swap.

How the two teams would round the match off:

The visitors made their second double substitution of the game with less than ten minutes left for play. They brought on Schöttel in place of captain and libero Weber, which saw midfielder Zsak take over captaincy, whereas the number 12 went into Weber’s libero role. In addition, they also took off central defender Artner. He was replaced with midfielder Werner, something which made sure the omnipresent Russ was brought back into the defensive line for the remainder of the match, with Werner coming on in an attacking midfield role, which also saw Stöger drop back a bit from his previously more advanced position.

The home side’s final substitution also brought along a couple of changes, with Keller moving into his prefered role as an (attacking) left-back, the role which Kozma had held after he himself had been brought on. Keller had come on for central midfielder Fitos, and Kozma would slot directly into Fitos’ role for the few remaining minutes.

Match Report

First half
The home side see the visitors kick off through forwards Marko and Pacult, a rather unlikely pairing due to a few absences. However, Hungary immediately wish to exert pressure on the visiting team, so Austria’s kick-off does not mean they are about to gain a lot of territorial advantage early on. In front of the vast number of empty wooden benches in the stands, Hungary will soon gain control of the ball and meticulously go about their short passing play. They will aim to make their way through the centre of the pitch for most of the time, something for which the visitors seem well prepared, however.

Hungary will soon realize that their most attacking players are victims to man-marking tactics from the Austrians. It is not just the front two who are shadowed wherever they go; this applies also to their two midfield maestros Détári and Bognár. It will take a lot of movement for them both to shake off Zsak and Russ respectively, and without much space for their two main midfielders in which to operate, some of the responsibility for distribution will instead fall to other players such as the more industrious, but hardly explicit, Fitos. He is operating slightly behind both Bognár and Détári, and does not possess anywhere near the same level of accuracy in his passing, so as long as both Russ, traditionally a right-back, and Zsak can sit tightly on their men, Austria should be able to stifle the home side’s level of creativity.

The hosts do not bring their wide players into the game early on, although there appears to be little wrong in the desire to attack from both Sallai at right-back and Sass down the opposite flank. Instead, Hungary will try to find either Vincze or Kiprich, their two most advanced players, who are both being followed steadily by their respective markers Artner and Pecl. It could be in order to confuse the visitors’ man-markers, but Vincze, who is normally seen as a left-sided striker, is clearly working to the right of centre during the initial stages of the first half, something which brings Artner across to the left of libero Weber. This area does strike you as the other man-marker, the left-footed, colossal Pecl’s, prefered domain, but he has to move across to the right of his libero in order to shadow Kiprich.

Hungary are unable to build enough pace in their attacks to draw the Austrians away from their positions; they prefer to play almost all of their passes onto a player’s foot rather than into space for a player to run onto. But as Austria sit deep, there isn’t a lot of space for the hosts to take advantage of anyway. So it felt important to have wide options to make use of, but although both Sallai and Sass present themselves wide along both touchlines, the home team decide to compress most of their play through the compact centre. They are unable to force their way through, and so Austria can instead try to gain some confidence from building attacks on their own. Their first purposeful attempt will be when Pacult plays Zsak through the middle with a little touch which outmanoeuvres the not so alert home defence on six minutes. Zsak gets the ball just a tad too far in front of him as Disztl comes off his line to thwart the midfielder’s effort. The goalkeeper saves from Zsak with his stomach, and the ball bounces away to safety. It should be enough of a warning sign to make Hungary take notice of the visitors as a counter-attacking threat.

The Hungarians have most of the possession, but they are rarely able to make much of it. There is an opportunity when they make it into the Austrian penalty area, but Bognár gets too close to the byline before he can get his shot away, and it is no problems for Disztl to divert the ball away to safety.

The match is predominantly a scrappy affair. Hungary try to look for openings from midfield, but neither Vincze nor, in particular, Kiprich do enough running off the ball to take their respective markers out for a stroll and stretch the visiting defence. Austria are perfectly happy to sit back and soak up whatever pressure it is that the hosts wish to exert, which in all honesty is not a great deal. The men in white and black have already shown once on the counter that they might be a threat, and it is again Pacult who is the source behind their next opportunity, when he feeds his forward partner Marko a quick ball to have a shot from just inside the area. However, the ball takes an unexpected bounce just as he is about to fire, and his effort drifts harmlessly wide.

Hungary will not escape next time, though. Pacult had been fed along the right-handed corridor by the strong running Willfurth, and chased by Garaba the striker goes to ground just outside the hosts’ penalty area. Garaba appears to have landed on Pacult as the pair took a tumble, and the Tirol forward goes down clutching his left knee. Starting an international for the first time, leaving the pitch easily is not in the number 9’s thoughts, and after receiving treatment for about three minutes, he gets back onto his feet and continues the game, hobbling to take up a position just outside the penalty area. The free-kick that follows is sweetly swung into the area by Baumeister’s fine left foot, and on the far post it is Marko who gets in between Balog and Salai to direct a header low just to the right of Disztl. He gets such power behind his header that the ‘keeper doesn’t have much time to react before the ball is in the back of the net, and the visitors have the lead. Marko, playing with his rolled-down socks and with a somewhat bohemian aura, had made a lively start, and was rapidly becoming a torn in the Hungarian defence.

The home side will seek to reply immediately, and inside his own half Détári is for once given a bit of leeway by Zsak. The West Germany Bundesliga star is able to make it until 20 yards inside the Austrian half before he feeds Kiprich in a more central position compared to his own out on the left, where Détári is by now shadowed by Willfurth. Kiprich plays the ball further inside on one touch to Fitos, who has a low first time pop from around 30 yards out. The ball just goes wide of the left hand post, though Lindenberger did seem to have it covered. Was this a glimpse into a world in which Lajos Détári could operate free of the shackles that is his marker Zsak? If so, the visitors will want to get Zsak back into his role as watch man as soon as possible. Hungary’s hitherto best opportunity had come from some light genius work by their number 10.

On 27 minutes comes the only situation of the half leading to players having their names taken by the referee, and the East German official felt the need to warn both Artner from the visiting team and the home side’s Vincze when the former had gone in hard on the forward from behind a few yards outside the Hungarian penalty area. Whereas Artner’s challenge had warranted a yellow, Vincze had swung his fist in the direction of Artner’s stomach as he had taken a tumble, and so he was booked for (blisteringly quick) retaliation. A couple of the Austrians surrounded the referee, as they felt that Vincze’s action should have yielded more than just his name on the back of a yellow card; you just don’t take a swing at someone on a football pitch.

There really is little to report from the final 15 odd minutes of the opening half: The pace is laboured, individual brilliance is absent. The Hungarians seem unable to break away from their pattern of having everything going through the tightly marked Détári, and even when the Eintracht Frankfurt ace manages to wrestle away from Zsak, he rarely is able to pose much of a threat as movement around him is scarce. Bognár also seems displeased with being followed around by Russ, who is having a fine game for the visitors. The visitors’ number 2 doesn’t only do a good job on the MTK Budapest man, but he impresses also when Austria are in possession, even if they are rarely exuberant. Bognár, on the other hand, seems reduced to a water carrier for Détári, and he is not able to influence on proceedings. Neither are the two strikers, both from the industrial town of Tatabánya. They both lack penetration, and they are too often found in areas where they are of little direct threat against the Austrian goal, typically out wide. However, during the course of the half, they have returned to more familiar sides of the pitch, with Kiprich usually found along the right, Vincze in the latter part of the half operating towards the left.

For the visitors, it is not the most demanding task in world football to keep the hosts at bay. Captain Weber leads by example from the heart of their defence, where he is calmness personified. The strong Pfeffer at left-back has the ability to galop forward when the opportunity presents itself, but he does lack precision in the decisive moments inside the Hungarian half. Just like for the home side, Austria too have a forward combination hailing from the same club side: Tirol strikers Marko and Pacult, where the latter is clearly reduced to a lesser threat after the knock which he picked up on the quarter of an hour mark. Marko, though, is relishing his first starting opportunity, and is full of energy, particularly after notching the opening goal. On one occasion he advances through the means of a powerful run from well inside his own half and halfway into Hungarian territory before Balog can finally stop him in his track.

Hungary has three headed attempts following set-pieces into the box, neither of which is able to trouble Lindenberger. It is Balog twice and Fitos who both should have done better, or at least have managed to hit the target and make the ‘keeper work, but their efforts are symptomatic for the first half. Among the few spectators there are a half-hearted boos heard as the teams come off the pitch for half time with Austria a goal to the good.

Second half
During the interval, visiting manager Hickersberger had made two substitutions. He had replaced the experienced Baumeister, who had had a fine first half in his reassuring role in the centre of the park, as well as assisting for the goal, with Stöger, and whereas Baumeister had often been quite deep in his interpretation of the role, Stöger was immediately in the thick of the action in a more advanced capacity. Was this just a coincidence, or would it prove to be part of a clear strategy from the visitors? It did also seem that Russ was no longer shadowing Bognár as closely as he had been doing in the first half, but Zsak was still tight to Détári. The second substitute to appear from kick-off in the second half was, unsurprisingly, a forward. The limping Pacult had been replaced with the tall and powerful Hasenhüttl, who got his debut in the absence of some of Austria’s finer strikers.

Two and a half minutes into the second half, it is Marko who has the first attempt at goal when he hits a half volley after Pfeffer’s long diagonal cross from the left. The striker’s effort rams the crossbar behind Disztl and goes over. Having already scored once, the lively Tirol man was looking for another, and against a frail home defence it seemed like opportunities would come his way. And just over a minute later comes another when Hasenhüttl does some fine work along the ground to carry the ball deep into the home side’s half and deliever an excellent little pass behind Balog for Marko to run onto and take into the penalty area from the right hand side. Marko’s low diagonal shot is parried by Disztl’s foot and spins onto the top of the net and behind for a corner. Less than four minutes in, and Hungary have already conceded two fine scoring opportunities to the visitors. Whatever Bálint must have said at half time had had little or no effect.

Hungary seemed to have no cohesion, no spirit, no movement, and the ability to cause the visitors problems was lacking. Bognár had on a couple of occasions tried to instigate something with passes forward from a somewhat deeper midfield role, but the Austrian defence coped admirably. The only effort on target from the home side inside the first ten minutes was libero Pintér’s free-kick from nearly 30 yards out which posed few problems for Lindenberger to save low down. At the other end, though, the lively Marko kept asking questions from the laxidaisical Hungarian defence, and just after ten minutes he is brought down by right-back Sallai, who had come across in a left-back position to bring the advancing striker down. Captain Weber swung the free-kick deep into the area, where it found its way towards the left hand side. No one had picked up left-back Pfeffer, who hit the ball back into the danger zone, and Hasenhüttl was unchallenged as he rose to head home the Austrians’ second from six yards out. It was a debut goal for the big man, and one that both he and his team mates clearly enjoyed. But where was the marking? Shocking.

Bálint made his first substitution in the wake of the goal, with Esterházy replacing Vincze up front. But the forward line, despite their shortcomings, was hardly the greatest problem area for the hosts. Esterházy, with World Cup experience, seemed to go into more of a roaming role than what Vincze had previously held, and he would be seen both to the right and towards the left in attack, with the more stationary Kiprich usually found towards the right of centre during the second half. Pecl kept marking the Tatabányai striker, who had an off-night. Artner would go from Vincze to marking substitute Esterházy it was thought.

Only a minute and a half after 2-0 comes yet another chance the visitors’ way. They can hardly believe the vast areas of space which the home side leave behind, and it is right-back Sallai who has left his defensive duties and gone AWOL as Pfeffer can run onto Pecl’s pass and advance on Disztl. Rather than playing the ball inside for Marko, who is free in the centre, the left-back opts to try and lift the ball over Disztl, but it doesn’t get enough lift and Disztl can divert it out for a left wing corner. It really should have been another goal and game over. The ease with which Austria carve open the Hungarian defence is remarkable. Pintér and Balog may look wide open in the centre of defence, but they receive no support from players around them, and both Sallai and Sass, the full-backs, are too often too high up in the pitch. With Garaba and Fitos unable or unwilling to backtrack as the Austrians break, the visitors are enjoying a field day in more than one sense of the expression.

On 14 minutes of the second half, it should have been a penalty for Hungary as Bognár, more expressive after the break, rode a Russ tackle to make his way into the area along the right hand corridor. He tries to make it past Pfeffer, but the left-back tackles him to the ground without getting anywhere near as much of the ball as he did of the Hungarian’s legs. However, the referee only gives Hungary a corner-kick from which nothing happens. It is not as if Bognár’s incensed at the official’s decision not to award him a penalty. Indifference seems to be the order of the Hungarians’ day.

In the first half, the home team had enjoyed a lot of possession, but with the progress of the second half, even this will diminish as they stop resembling a unit and rather perform as individuals. It becomes all the more easier for the visitors to maintain the ball within their team, as few Hungarians are willing to make chase. Where’s the leadership from players like Garaba, Détári and Kiprich when you need it? Bognár’s been the better home performer after the break, but even he can not muster a whole lot without much aid from his team mates. In the other camp there are a few players by the halfway point in the second half who are emerging as candidates for a ‘man of the match’ title, with the calm, elegant presence of Weber at the back already mentioned. He is also more daring in his forward approach with the visitors well in control, and is equally confident when making strides across the halfway line. In midfield not just Russ but also Zsak is beginning to see more of the ball, and Stöger had replaced the more defensively-natured Baumeister well, all aiding to their second half plight of destroying the hosts’ confidence. Bálint in the home team’s dugout realized he had to do something, and decided to bring on Kozma as a direct replacement for Sass in the left-back position. Again, it was hardly addressing their problem where it mattered.

Whereas it had seemed that Artner would continue his man-marking duties after Vincze had been replaced by Esterházy, it would become evident that the visitors’ central defender would relinquish such tactics with Esterházy opting for a more dynamic role than his predecessor. This resulted in Artner advancing with the ball at his feet and into enemy territory on a couple of occasions, which he did well, and with Stöger almost threading him right through the meagre Hungarian defence on the first of these occasions. Artner was another player to emerge with a fine performance.

Russ, traditionally appearing in a right-back role, had been mentioned as one of Austria’s better players, and with just over ten minutes left for play he makes an impressive advance through the Hungarian defence and feeds the forward storming Artner inside the area. The former man-marker gets too wide and can only shoot into the body of Disztl, but he gets to the rebound and plays it back for Marko, who can coolly side-foot into an empty net from only a few yards out, increasing the visitors’ lead into a satisfying 3-0 margin. Again, though, big question marks had to be asked about the Hungarians’ ability to backtrack, as no one had picked up neither Russ nor Artner. It was becoming diabolical from the home side, whereas the visitors enjoyed a comfortable afternoon in the Hungarian capital.

Austria make two changes immediately after their third goal, with Weber being replaced by Schöttel as libero, seeing Zsak take over captaincy, and with midfielder Werner coming on for Artner. The latter change meant that Russ went back into their central defensive unit for Artner, with Werner taking up Russ’ midfield role. However, it would appear that Werner would be the most advanced among the Austrians’ midfielders in the remaining few minutes, and that Stöger would drop back into a more defensive position. 

Marko was brimming with confidence having scored twice, and he was playing with a swagger that belied his lack of international experience. Not long after his 3-0 goal, he brought down a forward pass with a flick of his heel before playing it further on for Pfeffer to have a shot. The left-back’s effort in the end was wild and never a threat to Disztl, but the way Marko had paved the way for him to even have a go had been impressive. He was simply unplayable on the day, was Marko. And he would complete his hat-trick just before full time when he converted a rebound off the upright after Hasenhüttl’s chipped effort over Disztl. It was Stöger who had played the tall debutant striker in through the centre after receiving the ball following a fortunate bounce off Willfurth’s foot in a challenge with Kozma. Kozma had, incidentally, taken up a central midfield role by then, after the home side’s third and final substitution with left sided defender Keller replacing midfielder Fitos. So Marko could, deservedly, take the match-ball home. On this performance it was difficult to understand how he would never again score in the national team jersey.

Conclusion: Hungary were the masters of their own downfall with a performance lacking in just about every essential ingredient to be a success at international level. They did not work as a unit, they had no pace about them, they did not track back whenever the Austrians counter-attacked, and they had no answer to the visiting forwards’ strength, movability and opportunism. With the start of their qualifying campaign looming, there were grounds for concern, whereas the Austrians probably couldn’t believe their luck. A good few of their players had fine performances, and in addition to their four goals, they had had three or four other decent scoring opportunities.

Ratings

HUNGARY:
1 P Disztl 6.6
2 Sallai 6.3
3 Pintér 6.4
4 Sass 6.2
(14 Kozma -)
5 Balog 6.2
6 Garaba 6.0
7 Kiprich 5.8
8 Fitos 5.9
(13 Keller -)
9 G Bognár 6.5
10 Détári 6.2
11 Vincze 6.0
(16 Esterházy 6.1)

AUSTRIA:
1 Lindenberger 6.7
2 Russ 7.4
3 Pecl 7.2
4 Pfeffer 7.3
5 Weber 7.6
(12 Schöttel -)
6 Zsak 7.1
7 Marko 8.5
8 Artner 7.1
(14 Werner -)
9 Pacult 6.9
(15 Hasenhüttl 7.1)
10 Baumeister 7.0
(13 Stöger 7.2)
11 Willfurth 7.3

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