England humiliated by Hungary in worst home defeat in 94 years

What a mess. Gareth Southgate knew that he needed a win to restore a measure of calm after a deeply unconvincing start to this Nations League campaign, which had brought two points from the first three ties and one goal; none from open play.

What the England manager got was a new and worrying low – the heaviest defeat of his near six-year England tenure, the nation’s worst home loss since 1928 and a mutiny among the home crowd here at Molineux.

The fans had started to make for the exits when Roland Sallai scored his second goal of the evening to put Hungary 2-0 up, the boos ringing out, and it was at that point that everything fell apart for Southgate’s team.

When Zsolt Nagy drove home Hungary’s third, it felt surreal, the Euro 2020 finalists starring at humiliation. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” bellowed the fans at Southgate, more of them leaving, shouting abuse as they left.

There would be a harsh second yellow card for John Stones, who endured a terrible evening; yet more boos for Harry Maguire when he entered as a late substitute and the final indignity of a Hungary fourth, England’s defence in tatters, the substitute, Daniel Gazdag, running through to finish.

“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” chorused the home fans. Southgate had seen nothing go right from start to finish, the closest England came a 77th minute Harry Kane header that looped against the crossbar. For the manager and every player, there were no saving graces – only worry with just two more matches before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar on 21 November.

It was England’s fourth meeting of the season with Hungary, the previous one having come on the Saturday before last, a game that the Hungary midfielder Adam Nagy had called “the debacle in