STUTTGART: Germany called on their "three wizards" Florian Wirtz, Ilkay Gundogan and Jamal Musiala to break a 70-year spell without a tournament win against Hungary when they beat them 2-0 in their Euro 2024 Group A on Wednesday to qualify for the round of 16.
The Germans had not beaten Hungary in a tournament or tournament qualifier since their surprise 1954 World Cup final victory over the "Magical Magyars", widely viewed as the best team in the world at the time.
On Wednesday, they needed the creativity and finish of Wirtz, Gundogan and Musiala — dubbed the "three wizards" by coach Julian Nagelsmann — to combine for two goals that put them into the knockout stage and further raised hopes of a first major title in 10 years.
Hungary had earned a win and two draws in their three most recent matches against Germany in last year's Nations League and in the Euro tournament in 2021.
Wirtz delivered a perfect pass for Gundogan in the box in the 22nd minute and, despite a sloppy first touch, the captain kept at it to slip it to Musiala, who drilled the ball in for the lead.
Musiala, who also scored in their 5-1 demolition of Scotland in the tournament opener last week, was a constant source of problems for the Hungarians in and around the box.
Gundogan, who has one assist and a goal in his two matches despite enduring considerable pre-tournament criticism over his form, then turned scorer in the 67th to double their lead.
It is that magic that Germany will hope will carry all the way to the title, with a backline that was seriously tested for the first time in the tournament.
"It is important to have players like those three who have the ability to decide matches in the attacking area," Nagelsmann had said in March. "The three wizards have a lot of freedom."
The freedom to be creative is key for Wirtz, who scored 18 goals and set up 20 assists in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen in the season just ended, and combining with Gundogan and Musiala seems to come naturally.
It was exactly this kind of magic that Germany fans will be hoping carries them to a record fourth Euro title next month in Berlin. Reuters
