Brave Hungary make Denmark work hard for win

Markó's team had been able to win their last away World Cup qualifier against Croatia to remain in the hunt for third place in their qualifying group but their last two fixtures would also be away, in September against Ukraine but firstly this tremendously difficult challenge in Denmark against a team which had won all their group matches thus far except an away fixture in Sweden which was awarded to their opponents without a ball being kicked. Hungary's home fixture against the Danish had resulted in a 6-1 loss last September, albeit the first-half of that match was very tight affair.

Last week, Hungary had drawn 0-0 with Greece on Women's Football Day at Telki so they travelled in good heart to Viborg on Monday and that confidence showed on the pitch, the visitors shocking the hosts by taking a 24th-minute lead when Jakabfi converted Csiszár's pass.

The pattern of the match didn't change for the next twenty minutes but suddenly Denmark's Nadia Nadim burst into life with a quickfire double before half-time, the Manchester City forward handing her side an unexpected 2-1 lead at the break. Unfortunately, the second period started badly for Markó's side, Boye Sorensen scoring after a cross from a corner and that two-goal lead served to dampen Hungary's spirits to the extent that they couldn't match the achievement of the first half. Nielsen added a fourth goal in the 57th minute before a double blow followed in added time, goalkeeper Réka Szőcs being substituted with a suspected broken finger in the 92nd minute and then Harder completing the scoring with a 94th-minute strike to set the result at 5-1.

Hungary head coach Edina Markó: "Congratulations to the girls because we lost this match but still have our heads held high. In the first 45 minutes, we did everything we'd practised, everything we'd come to do and that we wanted to reach. Of course, we conceded chances to this world-class opponent but we were close to being a high-calibre opponent for them. In the second half, we lost our belief that with clever football, we could try to achieve great things, but in the Danes we came under huge, concentrated pressure, which decided the match. Aside from our game, I'm happy that whoever wanted to follow the match back at home could see what we're capable of against a world-class team in front of 8,000 spectators".

Denmark 5–1 Hungary (HT: 2–1)
Goals: DEN: Nadim (44. ,45.), Sörensen (47.), Nielsen (57.), Harder (90+4), HUN: Jakabfi 24.)

Hungary (surnames first): Szőcs Réka (Samu Anna 90+2.) – Papp Dóra, Turányi Lilla, Szeitl Szilva, Szabó Viktória – Csiszár Henrietta (Mosdóczi Evelin 84.), Rácz Zsófia, Fenyvesi Evelin (Zágor Bernadett 74.) – Jakabfi Zsanett, Vágó Fanni, Csányi Diána

Hungary's squad (surnames first):

Goalkeepers:

Szőcs Réka (MTK Hungária FC)
Csontos Zsanett (ETO FC Győr)
Samu Anna (Ferencvárosi TC)

Defenders:

Szeitl Szilvia (Ferencvárosi TC)
Tóth Alexandra (Szombathelyi Swietelsky-Haladás Viktória FC)
Szabó Viktória (Ferencvárosi TC)
Mosdóczi Evelin (Ferencvárosi TC)
Papp Dóra (MTK Hungária FC)
Tálosi Szabina (Szombathelyi Swietelsky-Haladás Viktória FC)
Pinczi Anita (MTK Hungária FC)
Turányi Lilla (MTK Hungária FC)
Horti Boglárka (Kóka FNLA)

Midfielders:

Rácz Zsófia (PSV Eindhoven)
Fenyvesi Evelin (Ferencvárosi TC)
Csiszár Henrietta (FC Bayer04 Leverkusen)
Csányi Diána (MTK Hungária FC)
Öreg Cintia (Szombathelyi Swietelsky-Haladás Viktória FC)
Jakabfi Zsanett (Vfl Wolfsburg)

Forwards:

Vágó Fanni (SKN St. Pölten)
Németh Loretta (Apollon Ladies FC)
Siklér Kinga (Swietelsky-Haladás Viktória FC)
Zágor Bernadett (SKN St. Pölten)
Kaján Zsanett (St. John’s Red Storm)