The first round of Group A fixtures came to a close this afternoon as Switzerland took on Hungary in Cologne, with both sides hoping to get their tournament off to a perfect start. Switzerland took early control of proceedings, dominating the early possession and scoring an early lead courtesy of Kwadwo Duah, making his first competitive start for the Swiss. Initially flagged offside, VAR ruled him onside and handed him his first goal for his country just 12 minutes into his first non-friendly start.
Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez almost gifted the Swiss a second midway through the first half when his backpass was latched onto by Ruben Vargas, but Péter Gulácsi made a strong save to keep the deficit at just one. With Granit Xhaka at the heart of proceedings, the Swiss continued to look the brighter side as they pushed for a second. Hungary had their chances too, with Willi Orban missing a free header and Hungary struggling to find momentum.
Just before halftime, Michel Aebsicher curled in his first international goal to put Switzerland firmly in the driving seat. Hungary began the second half better but still lacked quality, as they squandered set pieces and saw Gulácsi tested multiple times. Hungary’s best chance came just after the hour mark when Barnabas Varga headed wide, but he redeemed himself with a stooping header a minute later to bring Hungary back into the game.