Nov 28, 2022; Doha, Qatar; Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji (5) controls the ball against Brazil in the first half of a group stage match during the 2022 World Cup at Stadium 974. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
- Hungary vs Switzerland meet in Group A action at Euro 2024 at 9:00am ET on June 15
- Hungary was unbeaten in qualifying and has raised its FIFA ranking from 37th to 26th over the past year
- Below, see the Hungary vs Switzerland odds, predictions, and expected lineups for Saturday’s game in Cologne, Germany
The second day of Euro 2024 starts with a highly intriguing matchup between Hungary and Switzerland at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne in Group A action. Lumped in a quartet with hosts Germany and Scotland, both teams will feel compelled to get points out of their opening match.
Only the top-two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, and the Germans will be heavy favorites in all three of their matches. (They are listed at -360 to win against Scotland in the tournament-opener on Friday.)
Despite Hungary’s impressive run through qualifying, when they went unbeaten while winning Group G by four points over Serbia, it’s the Swiss who enter Saturday’s match as +125 favorites to take the full three points.
Hungary vs Switzerland Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary | +240 | Over 2.5 (+124) |
| Switzerland | +125 | Under 2.5 (-150) |
| Draw | +220 | N/A |
Hungary is a +240 underdog to win while the draw is priced at +220. The game total shows under 2.5 goals favored at -150 with the over coming back at +124.
Odds as of June 12 at DraftKings. Learn the available online betting deposit methods to fund your sportsbooks accounts for Euro 2024.
The Euro 2024 odds don’t view either team as a true title threat; the Swiss have slightly shorter odds than the Hungarians in the build-up. Switzerland enters Euro 2024 as a +6500 bet to win it all, 12th-shortest in the 24-team tournament. Hungary is listed at +8000.
Switzerland Enter Euro 2024 in Mediocre Form
The Swiss enter Euro 2024 on a very middling run. They went 2-2-0 in four friendlies since March, including a 4-0 home win over Estonia and a quality 1-0 away victory at Ireland. But they only have two wins, five draws, and a loss in their last eight competitive fixtures, and both wins came against Andorra (ranked 164th by FIFA).
The Swiss have an undeniably high level of talent on their roster but the stars that had them in the top-ten in the world in 2020 are ageing (Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri are both on the wrong side of 30) and there are serious questions about the coaching of Murat Yakin: Switzerland had a prime opportunity to win a lackluster Group I in qualifying but only managed a runner-up finish behind Romania when they failed to take the full three points from any of their final four matches. They squandered leads to Belarus (3-3), Israel (1-1), and Kosovo (1-1) down the stretch before losing to Romania (1-0) on the final matchday of qualifying (when a win would have vaulted the Swiss into first).
Switzerland wound up five points back of Romania and just two clear of third-placed Israel.
The shutout loss to Romania was the only time in qualifying that the Swiss were held scoreless. It was also the first time they failed to score in 12 competitive fixtures (dating back to a 1-0 loss to Brazil in the 2022 World Cup).
Often coming off the bench, Burnley midfielder Zeki Amdouni led the Swiss with six goals in qualifying.
Hungary Impress in Qualifying
A football power for the better part of 60 years – including three Olympic golds (1952, 1964, 1968) and two runner-up finishes at the World Cup (1938, 1954) – Hungary became more of an afterthought in the late 1900s and early 2000s.
But since Marco Rossi took over in 2018, Hungary has steadily surged back up the FIFA rankings, going from 54th in January 2018 to 26th currently.
They had the benefit of facing comparatively weak competition qualifying; consisting of Serbia (33rd in the world), Montenegro (70th), Bulgaria (83rd), and Lithuania (137th), Group G had the second-worst average FIFA ranking (69.8) among the nine groups (only counting the top-five teams in each group).
But Hungary’s undefeated run through qualifying (5-3-0) was nonetheless impressive, posting a +9 goal differential over the eight games (16 GF, 7 GA) and finishing four points clear of second-place Serbia. Hungary also had the 13th-best Expected Goals (xG) percentage among the 53 teams in qualifying, averaging +0.48 xG per game, according to footystats.org.
Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Ferencváros’ Barnabás Varga were the leaders of the Hungarian attack, scoring four goals apiece and accounting for exactly 50% of the team’s 16 goals across the eight qualifying matches.
Hungary vs Switzerland Expected Lineups
| Hungary | Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Péter Gulácsi (GK) | Yann Sommer (GK) |
| Attila Szalai (LB) | Ricardo Rodriguez (RB) |
| Willi Orban (CB) | Manuel Akanji (CB) |
| Adam Lang (RB) | Nico Elvedi (LB) |
| Milos Kerkez (LMF) | Dan Ndoye (LMF) |
| Loic Nego (RMF) | Granit Xhaka (CMF) |
| András Schafer (CMF) | Remo Freuler (CMF) |
| Ádám Nagy (CMF) | Silvan Widmer (RMF) |
| Roland Sallai (LW)) | Xherdan Shaqiri (RW) |
| Dominik Szoboszlai (RW) | Ruben Vargas (LW) |
| Barnabás Varga (STR) | Noah Okafor (STR) |
Hungary vs Switzerland Prediction
Switzerland is getting the benefit of name recognition. This group has been just below the top-tier teams for the better part of a decade, but they are clearly on the decline, while Hungary enters Euro 2024 in top form and full of confidence.
Both teams averaged two-plus goals per game in qualifying, and I expect Switzerland’s shaky backline to continue having issues against dangerous Hungarian forwards.
I see Hungary leaving this match with at least a point and, if I had to pick the best value on a correct score, it would be 2-1 Hungary at +1200 odds. My official picks for the game, though, are Double Chance: Hungary or Draw (-160) and over 2.5 goals at plus-money (+114).
Hungary vs Switzerland Picks:
- Double-chance Hungary or draw (-160)
- Over 2.5 goals (+124)
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.