On Monday evening, the Hungarian U19 national team played its final group match at the European Championship qualifying tournament in Andorra against Germany. Germany are one of the strongest sides in this age group; a year and a half ago this generation won the U17 European Championship in Budapest and then also lifted the U17 World Cup.
National coach Gergő Jeremiás placed his trust in both Honvéd players from the start, with Ádám Szamosi playing in midfield and Benedek Simon in attack.
At the end of the first half we were awarded a penalty for handball, and our club player Benedek Simon ruthlessly drove the ball with his right foot into the middle of the net to give us the lead. It was the first goal for our 18-year-old forward in the U19 national team. We remained ahead against Germany until the 75th minute, but they turned the match around in the space of three minutes and won the group showdown 2-1.
Simon played 76 minutes, while Szamosi spent 84 minutes on the pitch.
Hungary–Germany 1-2 (1-0)
HUNGARY: Yaakobishvili Á. Kuzma, Fenyő, Vitályos (Stumpf, 66.), Girsik Vidnyánszky (Kovács P., 84.), Németh H., Szamosi (Bacsa, 84.) Szabó Sz., Simon B. (Bősze, 76.), Molnár Á. (Mondovics, 76.)
Goals: Simon B. (44. – penalty), and Ramsak (75.), Brunner (78.)
Our U19 national team finished second in the group with two wins and one defeat, so we can continue in the elite round in the spring, where we can qualify for the European Championship in Romania scheduled for June 2025.
The match can be watched back here (Simon's goal is at 1:41:25 in the video).
