Rossi: I can be proud of my players

In their second match of this year's European Championship, this time against France, Hungary secured a 1-1 draw with a tremendous performance, which has caused one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far.

Marco Rossi was quick to emphasise how proud he is of his players:

“We had a few difficult days after the defeat against the Portuguese, and I didn’t think we would be able to deliver such a performance (as we did today). We should be happy not primarily because of the result, but because of the way we played, so the players can also be very proud of themselves. Our defence did a tremendous job, our inside and wing defenders were very good and the same is true for our midfielders. I am glad that the process of improvement that has been a feature for a long time has continued. The players will continue to develop, especially in attitude, and I hope we can take this further and even take another step forward against Germany. In today’s match, France's technical superiority was significant, but we were able to compensate for this with motivation and by playing with huge heart. I am grateful to the players and encourage them to continue the work they have started and the development they have made. Hungarian support is unparalleled in Europe and the world and we work hard to make our fans happy with us. This match was a two-hour adrenaline bomb, with plenty of emotion and tension for the fans too".

In response to a question from a journalist, the Italian coach of Hungary revealed that this day had been one of the most beautiful days of his coaching career.

“I’ve always watched the European Championships on television, and now I’m looking around here as amazed as kids are at a amusement park. Once we’re here at the amusement park, we also want to play and we want to perform well, but at the same time we have to keep our feet on the ground. We’re going to Munich now and we'll try to give our maximum there too,” added Marco Rossi.

It wasn't only the Hungarian head coach but also his French counterpart who praised the Hungarian team. According to Didier Deschamps, Hungary played very well in parts and adapted better to the great heat than his own players.

"The first 10-15 minutes were very hectic and we had a hard time settling into the match, but then our performance improved. We found space on the wings and created opportunities, even if we failed to score from them", Deschamps admitted. "At the end of the first half we got a kick in the stomach with the Hungarian goal. It must be admitted that in some parts Hungary played beautifully in front of their own crowd; they gave it their all and defended very well. We equalised in the second half, and didn't give up for even a minute. I knew that if we didn’t put everything into it, we couldn’t win. It seemed that we had a harder time in this heat than the Hungarians, and in the midst of these difficult conditions, they were more dynamic; in this match we were not as fresh as we could have been. Our goal is to advance from the group, so the four points we've scored so far are not bad for that, but it'd have been better if we could have earned three more points".