Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath earned his fourth cap for the Hungary Men's National Team on Sunday, playing the full 90 minutes to help the Magyars secure a huge 2-1 win over 2018 FIFA World Cup finalists Croatia at Groupama Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
Barath anchored a Hungary backline that limited Croatia to just two shots on target throughout the night as the Magyars atoned for Thursday's 2-0 loss at Slovakia with a momentous victory in the nation's capital.
Ante Rebic gave the visitors a 13th-minute lead, but Hungary responded through Hoffenheim striker Adam Szalai in the 34th minute before Mate Patkai bagged the 76th-minute winner to give the hosts three massive points in Group E of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
Forward Krisztian Nemeth, Barath's teammate at Sporting Kansas City, was an unused substitute on Sunday. The duo will now return to the United States ahead of Saturday's MLS home match against the Montreal Impact. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Children’s Mercy Park with tickets available at SeatGeek.com. Fans may also call 888-4KC-GOAL to secure a Family 4 Pack, consisting of four tickets, four hot dogs, four Coke products and four bags of chips.
Below is a current look at the congested Group E table through matchday two. Hungary and Croatia are two of five teams in the group that will square off in a home-and-away, double-round-robin format between now and November for a total of eight games. The top two finishers will advance to UEFA Euro 2020, which is scheduled to take place in 12 cities in 12 different European countries during the summer of 2020.
UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFYING: GROUP E TABLE
<strong>#</strong> |
<strong>TEAM</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>T</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
1 |
Slovakia |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
2 |
Wales |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
+1 |
3 |
Hungary |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
-1 |
4 |
Croatia |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
Azerbaijan |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
