Kick-off time: Saturday 15 June, 14:00, Cologne
With hosts Germany also housed in Group A, this could be a crucial battle in terms of reaching the knockout stages and neither Hungary nor Switzerland will want to give an inch to their rivals in their Euro 2024 curtain-raiser.
Hungary have come on leaps and bounds in recent years and draws with France and Germany at Euro 2020 should give them plenty of belief that they can at least advance beyond the group stages.
In qualifying, the Magyars topped a section featuring Serbia and they didn't lose a single game from their eight matches, winning on five occasions and drawing three times.
However, those draws came against Lithuania, Bulgaria and Montenegro so, while they have made significant progress in the past couple of years, Switzerland are still going to pose an almighty challenge.
The Swiss are a more established nation in major competitions and were quarter-finalists three years ago, having dumped out France on penalties following a 3-3 draw before losing their own shootout to Spain after a 1-1 stalemate.
Switzerland also drew with Wales in their opening match of Euro 2020 while three of their four outings at Euro 2016 ended level.
With the Swiss genuinely considered a well-oiled machine but lacking a prolific goalscorer, it should come as no surprise to see that five of their ten qualifiers in Group I finished as stalemates.
In fact, seven of Switzerland’s last 11 internationals have ended as draws and, in what promises to be a cagey opener between two sides desperate not to lose, a point apiece looks likely as it something that should suit both parties.
Hungary will be looking at Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai for their creative spark while Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka and the seasoned Xherdan Shaqiri, formerly of the Anfield club himself, remain an integral part of the Swiss set up.
With Fabian Schar of Newcastle and Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji at the heart of their defence, Switzerland will be tough to break down and they have conceded more than once in only one of their last nine internationals.
Hungary, meanwhile, have a Bundesliga-dominated defence headline by Leipzig’s Willi Orban and they arrive in Germany having kept clean sheets in three of their last four international matches, which includes a gritty 1-0 success over Turkey.
So, the draw stands out and that should lend itself to a low-scoring encounter, in which under 2.5 goals looks to make plenty of punting appeal.
There have been two or fewer goals in six of Switzerland’s last seven international matches while the same bet has done the business in two of Hungary’s last four outings.
Euro 2024
