Heroic Hungary reach first major tournament since 1986

Once again, Norway had the lion’s share of chances but came up empty, though this time they were punished more emphatically, as the hosting Hungarians were clinical.

Former Watford forward Tamas Priskin’s swerving strike will compete with compatriot Laszlo Kleinheisler’s cracking winner in the first leg to be best goal of this particular play-off, while late pressure led to Norway’s Markus Henriksen turning the ball into his own net. The young midfielder then made amends at the other end, but the Nordic nation’s consolation came too little too late.

This means Norway miss out on another major finals, with their last outing at Euro 2000, while Hungary await the chance to feature at their first European Championship since 1972, with the group draw set for December 12th.

Speaking after victory, boss Storck underlined the importance of their feat, stating: “Congratulations to the team for a huge performance throughout the qualifying series. This is huge success for the football team and the country. Now I’m Hungarian.

“Having come back down to earth we are now celebrating. We’ll see how to proceed but we are well prepared for the tournament.”

Related

Further Euro 2016 content, previews and features are available in our archive