Hungary dedicated what could be a crucial win over Scotland to Barnabas Varga after the Ferencvaros player was taken off on a stretcher and taken to hospital. He had been left motionless on the pitch after leaping to meet a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick in the 71st minute of a game Hungary won in stoppage time.
While receiving treatment on the pitch and being helped away on a stretcher, Varga had sheeting placed around him. A statement from the Hungarian Football Federation said Varga was “stable” in a Stuttgart hospital. A post on X said: “Several bones in Barnabas Varga’s face were broken during the collision during the match, and he also suffered a concussion. Surgery is most likely to be expected. He will spend the night in the hospital in Stuttgart. The whole team is rooting for him!”
“It was a terrible moment,” said Hungary’s Roland Sallai, the player of the match. “He will probably have to go through a minor operation but he is in a much better condition. We were fighting for him in the remaining minutes. We dedicate it to him.”
Marco Rossi, the Hungary head coach, seemed unclear on precisely what had transpired with Varga. “I do not know if he suffered a clash with the goalkeeper or another opponent because it was a confusing situation. That is also why the VAR checked if there was a penalty or not.
“What I heard from the players was that Barnay in that moment looked not conscious. Everybody was really worried about his condition and also worried about the fact the doctors arrived a little bit late, shall we say. They probably didn’t realise it was a dangerous situation.
“Fortunately now we can say Barnay is not under any kind of risk. Probably he will be operated on in the following hours because he suffered a fracture. The most important thing is he is healthy. For sure, if we go through in this competition he will not be part of the team any more.”
Scotland’s goalkeeper Angus Gunn told the BBC: “It was a bit of a blur. I thought I had to come and thought I’d done well. It was a bit painful. Hopefully the guy is all right. I can’t really remember too much about it.”
Rossi felt Hungary were worthy of their win, while taking aim at “keyboard warriors” who had criticised him in this competition. “We had several more opportunities than Scotland did,” said the Italian. “I would have been hugely disappointed going home without getting anything. We now have three points, which compared to our previous tally is one more.
“Ultimately I think they can hold it against me and my players only for getting the first half against Switzerland wrong.”
