Impressive goals light up inaugural Puskás Aréna match

With his side's final, crucial Euro 2020 qualifier coming up in Wales in just four days' time, Hungary head coach Rossi opted for an experimental lineup, but not one shorn of experience, Balázs Dzsudzák captaining a starting eleven which featured no fewer than six representatives of the nation's UEFA Euro 2016 squad. Goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz was stationed behind a back four of Mihály Korhut, Ádám Lang, Botond Baráth and Barnabás Bese with Máté Vida occupying a central defensive midfield role behind a more attacking quartet of left-winger Roland Varga, Dominik Szoboszlai, Zsolt Kalmár and Dzsudák cutting in from the right to support Ádám Szalai upfront on his own.

The pattern for the first half was clear as early as the fourth minute when Brian Rodriguez's neat pass allowed Barcelona striker Luis Suárez to test Dibusz low at his near left post. From the ensuing corner, Uruguay captain Godin headed wastefully wide while unmarked.

Soon after, Rodriguez's shot was blocked and Suarez blazed the rebound over, before Matias Vina was denied by a deflection to his shot in the 12th minute. Something had to give under such pressure and it was Vina who created it, his beautiful nutmeg of Bese preceding a low, inviting, left-wing cross behind the Hungarian defence which Edinson Cavani duly dispatched high into the net at the back post to hand his side a 15th-minute lead.

Six minutes later and FIFA 2010 World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay doubled their advantage, again in impressive style, Suárez sliding the ball into the left channel of the penalty area behind Bese for Rodriguez to cut inside and stroke a fabulous finish into the far, right side of the Hungary goal.

Fans may have been forgiven for thinking there would be precious little to cheer while facing such illustrious opposition but Ádám Szalai swiftly raised the stakes in the competition for goal of the game, Dzsudzsák and Varga combining slickly for the latter to slide the ball across the penalty area in the 24th minute, where, ten metres out, the Mainz striker produced the precisest of low stabs to divert the ball just inside Fernando Musiera's left post.

From a worrying position two goals down, Rossi's charges were suddenly very much back in the game and they no longer seemed inhibited by the array of world-class talent in front of them. Hungary gave as good as they got and can perhaps count themselves unlucky not to have come closer to an equaliser before half-time, an errant, flicked header backwards by one of two Uruguay defenders vying for a high ball setting Szalai free down the right wing in the 40th minute. Play was cut short though when Sebastian Coates brought down Szoboszlai as they sprinted towards the Uruguay goal to meet Szalai's impending cross. The former Liverpool defender was booked for his misdemeanour but Dzsudzsák curled the free-kick over the bar.

Lozano forced a corner with a deflected shot and Suárez smashed a crossfield pass low but straight at Dibusz from the edge of the area as an exciting first half came to an end and signalled the start of the understandable and inevitable surfeit of substitutions which underpinned the rest of the game. Uruguay, as would befit a team of their calibre, continued to press for more goals, Vida doing well to block Gomez's shot in the 54th minute and more Rodriguez magic giving Cavani a sight of goal, but the Paris Saint Germain forward could only send his effort sailing wide.

Just after the hour mark, Baráth's last-second intervention saved Dibusz the task of denying substitute Maxi Gomez - a half-time replacement for Suárez - as the hosts gradually starved their guests of more chances to shoot. At the other end, Hungary enjoyed sporadic forays in the final third but they were unable to fashion any really clear openings. Amongst the new faces were two debutants for Hungary, Attila Szalai coming on for Baráth at centre-back and Zsolt Nagy replacing Korhut in the left-back position, while Dávd Holman also came on

As the clock ticked down to the game's denouement, Dibusz beat away Gomez's effort fom ten metres and Róbert Feczesin's flicked, near-post header from Varga's driven, right-wing cross flew just wide of the Uruguay goal. Dibusz's routine collection of Gaston Pereira's low free-kick was the final act of an enjoyable, the highlights of which were undoubtedly the inauguration of this splendid, state-of-the-art arena, the debuts for Attila Szalai and Zsolt Nagy and the three excellent goals scored in front of a capacity 67,000 crowd.

Hungary 1-2 Uruguay
Goalscorers: HUN: Ádám Szalai (24'); URU: Edinson Cavani (15), Brian Rodríguez (21)

HUNGARY (l to r): Dénes Dibusz; Mihály Korhut (Zsolt Nagy 74), Ádám Lang, Botond Baráth (Attila Szalai 70), Barnabás Bese; Máté Vida; Roland Varga, Dominik Szoboszlai (Ádám Nagy 66), Zsolt Kalmár (Dávid Holman 82), Balázs Dzsudzsák (c) (István Kovács 53);  Ádám Szalai (Róbert Feczesin 59).

URUGUAY (l to r): Fernando Muslera; Matías Viña (Diego Laxalt 67), Diego Godín, Sebastián Coates, Giovanni González; Brian Lozano, Federico Valverde (Lucas Torreira 66), Rodrigo Bentancur (Matías Vecino 52), Brian Rodríguez (Gastón Pereiro 81); Edinson Cavani (Cristhian Stuani 73), Luis Suárez (Maxi Gómez 45).