Football Features

    “There’s no excuse” – Player ratings as Hungary humiliate England in historic 0-4 win at Molineux

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 22:29, 14 June 2022

    Hungary have thrashed England 0-4 at Molineux, inflicting Gareth Southgate’s heaviest defeat as manager.

    The Magyars recorded their first win on English soil since the historic 3-6 back in 1953 as they absolutely ripped the Three Lions to pieces in a ruthless second-half to register England’s worst home defeat since 1928 when they lost 1-5 to Scotland and their worst-ever home defeat to a non-British side.

    Here’s how the players rated at Molineux:

    England

    Aaron Ramsdale – 2 – Just an impossibly bad display from Ramsdale. Nothing he did worked. Three of the Hungary goals were eminently savable shots that he simply lacked the presence and/or technique to keep out. Sallai’s two, in particular. Alright Nagy’s thunderbolt was always going to be tricky to deal with, but even that he could have done something about.

    The only Englishman who truly enjoyed this performance was Jordan Pickford. His place as the starter is now secure and Ramsdale will need to move heaven and earth for Arsenal to next season to convince England fans after this.

    Kyle Walker – 4 – Unusually weak. Watching him scamper across to block Sallai for the winger’s second goal only to… not block it, was very strange for a defender that is so usually rock solid.

    John Stones – 3 – Disastrous. Defended the first two Hungary goals with a lackadaisical attitude that was rightly punished. Showed a bit more gusto for the third goal but still wasn’t any good then got sent off later just for good measure.

    Marc Guehi – 4 – Guehi managed to avoid disgracing himself for the first three goals but on Hungary’s fourth he was well out of position, pushed up and exposing Harry Maguire without truly challenging for the ball. Oh dear.

    Reece James – 5 – Cleared the ball off the line to stop Hungary scoring a second. Raided forward a bunch. The only English defender to escape Molineux with his dignity.

    Kalvin Phillips – 3 – If Kalvin Phillips was trying to play his way out of having to leave his beloved Leeds this summer then he did a wonderful job tonight. Without Rice next to him this should have been Phillips’ chance to shine as a lone pivot but without the coherence of the Bielsa system, Phillips looked rickety and rusty. His defending on Hungary’s second goal was… a choice.

    Jude Bellingham – 5 – Drove the ball forward nicely. Looked England’s brightest player along with Bukayo Saka but still looks out of sync with many of his team-mates.

    Conor Gallagher – 5 – Not terrible, but not good.

    Jarrod Bowen – 4 – Missed England’s only good chance in the first-half and ruined a great break with some poor control.

    Bukayo Saka – 5 – Some very bright runs forward early on. Looked England’s best chance of creating a goal.

    Harry Kane – 4 – Shocking attempt at a clearance let the ball run through to Sallai for the goal. Hasn’t looked the same in an England shirt since Marcus Rashford stopped being a regular player, as it’s clear Kane misses linking with a forward who surges behind defences in the same way that Heung-min Son does for Spurs. His few bright moments tonight were when he had Bukayo Saka tearing ahead of him.

    England Substitutes:

    Raheem Sterling (for Bowen 46′) – 5 – Came on at half-time and had zero impact on the game.

    Mason Mount (for Gallagher 56′) – 4 – Left too many gaps behind him.

    Phil Foden (for Bellingham 68′) – 4 – Was supposed to help grab a goal but only ended up exposing England’s midfield to the break.

    Harry Maguire (for Saka 86′) – 4 – Came on late and still managed to humiliate himself with some statuesque defending for Hungary’s fourth goal. Just when you thought he was going to escape without embarrassing himself.

    “There’s no excuse,” said Eni Aluko after the match. Aluko played 102 times for England women and was defending Gareth Southgate, a sentiment echoed by Joe Cole who added: “that’s the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey, that’s factual.”

    For his own part, Gareth Southgate didn’t shirk anything. “That’s my responsibility in the end,” he said after the game.

    Explaining what happened, Southgate was clear: “at half-time we needed to go for the game, I thought we made changes that gave us a bit of attacking impetus […] we’ve got so many attacking players on the pitch that you leave yourself wide open.”

    “I think I’ve given too much for them to do tonight,” added Southgate, refusing to blame his players nor decry the fans who booed him during and after the game, saying: “I understand the reaction to that in the stadium.”

    “England will be back,” concluded Joe Cole.

    Hungary

    Denes Dibusz – 7 – Had little to do but did it well.

    Adam Lang – 8 – Solid. Gave nothing away. Made a great headed assists for Hungary’s opener.

    Willi Orban – 8 – Almost scored an own goal but in general was a quality presence at the back.

    Attila Szalai – 7 – Was denied a goal by a superb goalline clearance from James.

    Atilla Fiola – 7 – Relentless running up and down the right.

    Andras Schafer – 7 – Couldn’t handle the dynamism of England’s young midfield but absolutely refused to give them any space.

    Callum Styles – 7 – Worked hard.

    Zsolt Nagy – 8 – Rampaged on the left flank, defending nicely. Scored the third goal with an absolute piledriver of a finish.

    Dominik Szoboszlai – 7 – A quiet afternoon for Hungary’s talisman.

    Roland Sallai – 9 – Strong, improvised finish to give Hungary a shock lead. Doubled his tally late in the second-half with a diagonal run and stunning first-time trivela finish that was reminscent of David Villa destroying Iker Casillas in Barcelona’s legendary 5-9 Clásico win. He definitely benefitted from Ramsdale’s miserable goalkeeping but you can’t argue with his impetus and shooting technique. A phenomenal display that he will never forget.

    Adam Szalai – 7 – A solid presence up-front. Battled well against the England defenders, wearing them down so that Martin Adam could come up and absolutely destroy them.

    Hungary Substitutes:

    Daniel Gazdag (for Szoboszlai 56′) – 8 – Ran superbly and scored a sumptuous fourth for Hungary as he deftly chipped Ramsdale.

    Adam Nagy (for Styles 56′) – 7 – Came in to shut down spaces in midfield.

    Martin Adam (for Szalai 68′) – 8 – Produced two gorgeous assists to rip England apart. His second was a perfectly-weighted backpass, teeing it up for Nagy, but his first assist saw him drive through the England defence like a hot knife through butter before slipping it to Sallai.

    Loic Nego (for Sallai 78′) – 7 – Hungary’s hero of the win in Budapest came off the bench with a bright cameo, causing trouble.

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