This result, combined with Italy's draw in England (0-0) leaves the situation unchanged in this group 3 of League A: the Italians remain in the lead with 5 points, ahead of the Hungarians (4 pts), the Germany (3 pts) and England (2 pts).

The match started at a hundred miles an hour, however, with two goals in the first ten minutes.

Zsolt Nagy first blew up the packed Puskas Arena with joy, beating Manuel Neuer in the 6th minute.

Hungarian defender Zsolt Nagy opens the scoring despite the return of German defender Niklas Suele, during their Nations League match on June 11, 2022 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest FERENC ISZA AFP

But the euphoria of the 65,000 spectators was short-lived: superbly launched deep from his own camp by central defender Niko Schlotterbeck, Jonas Hofmann, the attacking midfielder of Mönchengladbach, erased the Hungarian goalkeeper in full swing and equalized (1- 1, 9th).

The joy of German midfielder Jonas Hofmann, after equalizing (1-1) against Hungary, during their Nations League match, June 11, 2022 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest Attila KISBENEDEK AFP

The game remained balanced, but gradually lost its momentum.

Hansi Flick's men, sluggish on recovery, have forgotten their fundamentals, this rapid transition game which is usually their trademark.

Lack of rhythm

And it took another phenomenal foot save from Manuel Neuer at the end of the first period (44th) to prevent the hosts from regaining the advantage on a close shot from Attila Fiola.

After the break, the four-time world champions had overall control of the game, but struggled to get the pace.

And even young strikers Jamal Musiala (Bayern) and Kai Havertz (Chelsea) did not have their usual performance.

Hofmann wasted a golden opportunity to score a double when he wanted to serve Timo Werner in the area instead of trying his luck, and the ball was diverted for a corner by a defender (72nd).

Hungarian defender Willi Orban wrestles with German striker Timo Werner during their Nations League match on June 11, 2022 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest FERENC ISZA AFP

The Hungarians, for their part, did not exploit several errors from the German defenses, including a calamitous back pass from Parisian Thilo Kehrer (74th).

Mannschaft coach Hansi Flick is still undefeated after 12 games on the bench, but Germany is not really a scarecrow in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar in November-December.

He still has to receive Italy on Tuesday in Mönchengladbach.

On the first leg in Bologna, the Germans were taken by surprise by an inexperienced but dynamic team, which opened the scoring before conceding a 1-1 draw.

© 2022 AFP