England happy to see end of long season in sight as they face yet another Hungary test

The good news for England manager Gareth Southgate is that Hungary will not be at the World Cup finals in Qatar. Four fixtures against the same opposition, two of them stained by racist abuse of his players, is quite enough in the space of 10 congested months, especially when matches against the Hungarians now act as a clear gauge of England’s diminishing potency.

Last September, Southgate took England to Budapest for a World Cup qualifier. It was their first outing since a historic high, a first major tournament final since the World Cup in 1966, and if the experience in the final of the delayed Euro 2020 had been bittersweet after England lost to Italy on a penalty shoot-out, the display at the Puskas Arena spoke of a continuing upwards trajectory. England scored four second-half goals, and let in none.

After that, the Hungary gauge turns into a barometer of England’s slipping form against stronger nations. They fell behind at home in World Cup qualifying last October, and drew 1-1 thanks to a goal from the defender John Stones. Ten days ago, in a Puskas stadium from which adult spectators were mostly banned because of the abuse last year, Hungary took the lead thanks to another penalty. This time, England had no answer.

Unless Southgate and some weary England players can reverse that pattern against an all-too-familiar Hungary on Tuesday evening at Molineux, they face the very real possibility of relegation from the Nations League’s top tier.

That in itself would be a relatively minor setback. The principal aim of this month’s matches and September’s two games in Nations League Group A3 has been to finesse tactics and personnel for Qatar 2022, a tournament in which Southgate has a high standard to maintain.

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