A game that had all the potential to be a thrilling spectacle with a potential place in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 on the line failed to live up to expectations until the final minutes when Kevin Csoboth broke Scotland's hearts, earning Hungary a 1-0 win.
Csoboth entered the pitch in a flurry of attacking substitutions by Marco Rossi in a late roll of the dice, and the Hungary manager was awarded with a 100th-minute winner.
The final minutes saw the game explode into action with both teams throwing men forward in an attempt to win the game, and Hungary got their goal when Roland Sallai cut the ball across to Csoboth to side-foot into the net.
The three points for Hungary leave them with a small chance of qualifying to the next stage of the tournament as one of the best third-placed sides during the group stages.
As for Scotland, the devastating defeat means their wait for a first appearance in the knockout rounds of a major tournament is extended as they made their 12th exit from the group stage.
An extremely timid first half saw Steve Clarke's men dominate the majority of the ball, but they were unable to break down the stubborn Hungary defence, resulting in them failing to register a single shot in the first 45 minutes.
Hungary, on the other hand, appeared more than happy to sit deep and spring forward on the counter and they had the first chance of the game when Bendeguz Bolla's seventh-minute shot was parried away by Angus Gunn.
A dull period in the match followed with the next chance of real quality coming just before half time when a free kick was awarded against Che Adams for a high boot, with Dominik Szoboszlai's delivery being met in the air by Willi Orban, but his header struck the crossbar and spun out for a goal kick.
Rossi's men had a clear change in tactics for the second half as they came out on the front foot with Sallai having a chance to strike a volley three minutes after the restart, but the Hungarian failed to generate any power behind his shot with Gunn easily gathering.
Scotland finally recorded their first shot of the match in the 53rd minute when Andy Robertson eagerly won the ball back from his Liverpool teammate Szoboszlai before laying it off to Adams, and the striker turned down the chance to play it on to his overlapping full-back and his eventual shot flew over the bar.
Hungary once again showed their fantastic ability to pounce on any Scotland mistakes as Szoboszlai stole the ball from Robertson and fed the ball through to Sallai, who cut in and tried to curl an effort in with the Scottish defenders able to turn the ball away for a corner.
A seemingly serious head injury for Barnabas Varga following a big collision with Gunn saw the striker stretchered off, taking much of the intensity out of the game following a lengthy stoppage.
Both teams were eventually able to get back up to speed and Scotland thought they should have had a penalty shortly after when Stuart Armstrong was bundled over by Orban in the box, but both the referee and VAR deemed the challenge to be a fair one.
Clarke and Rossi both made a number of changes with plenty of attacking intent behind them as they looked to roll the dice in an attempt to snatch the victory.
These changes saw the game spring into action with both sides throwing plenty of men forward and neglecting their defensive duties in the process.
Hungary had the better of these chances with Szoboszlai having an effort well saved by Gunn before Csoboth raced through and hit the far post with a driven effort.
Rossi's men finally found the opening goal of the game when Sallai cut the ball across the box for substitute hero Csoboth to place into the net and claim all three points for his side.
The result will leave Hungary keeping a keen eye on the remainder of the tournament with hopes of qualifying through to the next stage of the competition as one of the best third-placed sides in the group stages. body check tags ::
