Hungary vs Switzerland LIVE!

Euro 2024 has begun as the second match in Group A kicks off the first full day of action. Germany defeated Scotland in the opening match on Friday evening to set a marker and now both Hungary and Switzerland will know it will likely be a battle between the two of them to see who finishes behind the hosts.

Hungary have been tipped as one of the competition’s dark horses as they remained unbeaten throughout qualifying and were led by captain and Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai. They flopped at the previous European Championship, going out of the group stages without a win to their name, but are widely expected to do much better this time around.

However, Switzerland is not a fraud. Granit Xhaka, their influential leader, is leading what is considered a golden generation for the country’s footballing prospects. The selection also consists of Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji, Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer and Xherdan Shaqiri. Follow the match LIVE below with our special match blog.

Hungary vs Switzerland latest updates

• Kick-off: 2 p.m., Cologne Stadium

• How to watch: ITV and ITVX

• Hungary team news: Captain Szoboszlai shakes off injury

• Switzerland XI: No Shaqiri or Amdouni

• Score prediction: All square in Group A clash

Complete team news

13:03 , Alex Young

Hungary XI: Gulacsi, Lang, Orban, Szalai, Fiola, Nagy, Schafer, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Sallai, Varga

subtitles: Dibusz, Szappanos, Balogh, Nego, Ádám, Bolla, Kleinheisler, Gazdag, Styles, Zs. Nagy, Botka, Csoboth, Dardai, Horvath, Kata

Switzerland XI: Sommer, Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Ndoye, Aebischer, Vargas, Duah

subtitles: Mvogo, Kobel, Stergiou, Elvedi, Embolo, Okafor, Steffen, Zesiger, Sierro, Shaqiri, Jashari, Amdouni, Rieder

Hungary XI

12:53 , Alex Young

…and Hungary!

12:51 , Alex Young

No Shaqiri or Amdouni in the Swiss starting eleven.

Switzerland XI

12:46 , Alex Young

Here’s how the Swiss line up!

‘If the pressure is removed, Switzerland can be helped’

12:41 , Alex Young

Unsurprisingly, Phillipe Senderos agrees. The former central defender predicted a 2-1 victory for his country today.

“It is a match for Switzerland that they have to win, even if it is their opener, but Hungary are a very good team,” he told OLGB.

He added: “I think taking the pressure off could help Switzerland, but we always expect the team to do better than last time, even though we are a very small country.

“So I think a successful tournament would be to get out of the group and see what happens from there.”

Last chances

12:34 , Alex Young

According to the bookmakers, Switzerland has the lead today.

• Hungary: 12/5

• Draw: 13/8

• Switzerland: 11/10

(Ods via Betfair)

Hungary fans on the move

12:27 , Alex Young

Quite a sight.

Xhaka speaks about the past of the bust-up in Switzerland

12:21 , Alex Young

Granit Xhaka has played down reports of a rift with head coach Murat Yakin.

Xhaka was asked to think back to September, when he was critical of the team’s preparation for a 2-2 draw against Kosovo.

He said: “We are happy that we have a coach who listens to us and wants to talk to us. We have never had any problems.”

“We are mature enough to clarify everything. I have a great relationship with the coach.

“Over the past six or eight months he came to visit me often. We met in Düsseldorf, we ate together and drank a lot of wine together.

“Everything is going fine. We are both ambitious and want to be successful.

“Those who know me know that I don’t like to talk about ifs, buts and hypotheses. I have packed to spend a lot of time here.”

Score prediction

12:08 , Alex Young

Hungary certainly look like dark horses, but the Swiss are so experienced and able to keep today’s opponents at bay.

Draw, 1-1.

Predicted XIs

12:01 , Alex Young

Predicted Hungary XI: Gulacsi, Lang, Orban, Szalai, Nego, Nagy, Schafer, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Sallai, Varga

Predicted Switzerland XI: Sommer, Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Ndoye, Shaqiri, Vargas, Amdouni

Team news from Switzerland

11:55 , Alex Young

Steven Zuber is a doubt for Switzerland after defeat in the friendly draw against Austria, but both Breel Embolo and Denis Zakaria have shaken off injury problems to qualify.

Captain Granit Xhaka, Manuel Akanji and Xherdan Shaqiri should all start. Burnley striker Zeki Amdouni will take charge and will be supported by Shaqiri.

The 32-year-old has scored or assisted 46 percent of Switzerland’s 28 major tournament goals (nine goals and four assists) since the 2014 World Cup.

Team news from Hungary

11:46 , Alex Young

Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai has shaken off an injury ahead of the match and is expected to start for Hungary.

Experienced goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi gets the nod again, in front of a back line that includes Willi Orban and Attila Szalai.

Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez should also get the nod, backing Barnabas Varga – who scored 29 goals for Ferencvaros last season – from outside.

Where to watch Hungary vs Switzerland

11:37 , Alex Young

TV channel: The game will be broadcast live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV1 and STV. Coverage starts at 1.15pm BST, ahead of the 2pm kick-off.

Live stream: ITVX and the STV Player will provide fans with a live streaming service online.

Live coverage: Follow all the action this afternoon with Standard sport special competition blog.

Welcome

11:32 , Alex Young

Good morning and welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Euro 2024 match between Hungary and Switzerland.

It is the second match in Group A, after Germany defeated Scotland in the tournament victory.

That result and performance looked very ominous for Scotland and means today’s two teams will likely battle to finish second behind the hosts.

Kick-off is at 2pm BST. Stay with us.