In the process of salvaging some pride from their European Championship campaign, Scotland kept themselves in contention to reach the last 16 with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in midweek.
Having suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Germany on opening night, Steve Clarke’s men went ahead in the 13th minute, when Scott McTominay fired home with the help of a huge deflection.
However, tournament specialist Xherdan Shaqiri soon took advantage of an Anthony Ralston error to curl an unstoppable strike into the top corner, and Switzerland were back on level terms in spectacular fashion.
Grant Hanley later rattled the goal frame, while Scotland survived some scares at the other end, but picking up a point means they might yet go through by beating Hungary on Sunday.
Progressing to the knockout rounds of a major finals for the first time has been Clarke’s stated aim for this summer, and finishing third in Group A may well be enough to fulfil that ambition.
Only if they win handsomely and Switzerland lose by a significant margin to Germany will the Tartan Army be able to snatch second spot, so they must try to tally four points from three games, then cross their fingers and hope.
However, history suggests that could be easier said than done: Scotland have won just two of their 11 European Championship matches to date.
Meanwhile, Hungary are winless in their last eight attempts at the Euros, and another failure this weekend would see them equal the all-time record run for games without a victory.
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Indeed, the Magyars have won only one of their last 17 matches at major tournaments when pitched against fellow European nations, following back-to-back defeats at the start of their Group A campaign.
Marco Rossi’s men had high expectations when heading towards Germany, as they had previously lost just once in 16 matches across all competitions – now they are staring an early exit straight in the face.
After being beaten 3-1 by Switzerland in their opener, before succumbing 2-0 to the hosts on Wednesday, Hungary categorically cannot finish in the top two and will be unable to reach the last 16 if they fail to beat Scotland.
Even then, a total of three points is unlikely to see them through as one of the best third-placed teams, so the outlook certainly seems bleak.
