BUDAPEST — Hungary’s 30-year wait to play on the major championship stage will end in France next year after its 2-1 victory over Norway ensured that one of football’s most storied nations qualified for the Euro 2016 Finals.
The triumph, which sealed its 3-1 victory on aggregate in front of an ecstatic crowd in the Groupama Arena, guaranteed Hungary’s first appearance in any championship Finals since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
“I have to congratulate my team, the association president Sandor Csanyi, and also Pal Dardai, who I took over from and he left this team for me,” said Hungary’s German coach Bernd Storck who took charge in July.
“The players’ approach was fantastic during those two games, they fought well and deserved to qualify to France.”
The Hungarians built on their first-leg win in Oslo when Tamas Priskin curled in a delightful 14th-minute opener and Markus Henriksen’s own goal on 83 minutes made the tie safe.
Henriksen atoned with a late goal but it was scant consolation for the Norwegians as the home side celebrated qualifying for the European Championship finals for the first time since 1972.
The toast of Budapest was Hungary’s 39-year-old Gabor Kiraly, who made a series of superb saves over the two legs.
DR Congo and Morocco advance
Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo both advanced toward another World Cup Finals appearance Sunday but without much conviction as they booked places in the final phase of African qualification for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Morocco lost 1-0 away to Equatorial Guinea in Bata but qualified 2-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg Thursday. This keeps it on course for a fifth World Cup finals appearance but its first since France in 1998.
It is joined in the final group phase by Guinea, Uganda, Zambia and the Congolese, who, as Zaire, played at the 1974 Finals in West Germany. DR Congo qualified despite being held 2-2 at home by tiny neighbor Burundi in a disappointing result on its return to Kinshasa’s newly-refurbished Martyrs Stadium.
Two late goals gave the Congolese a 3-2 away win in Thursday’s first leg and it was expecting an easy return match, scoring first through French-born Jordan Nkololo.
But striker Dieumerci Mbokani, back to help defend a corner, skewed the ball into his own net for an equalizer that suddenly offered Burundi some hope.
Yannick Bolaise’s 77th minute penalty put the Congolese back ahead but Burundi ensured an anxious finish when it equalized near the end with a spot kick of its own, converted by Fiston Abdul Razak.
Seventeen-year-old Farouk Miya netted two of Uganda’s three first-half goals in a 3-0 win in Kampala, ensuring a 4-0 aggregate triumph, while Winston Kalengo’s 81st minute goal sealed Zambia’s 2-0 win over Sudan in Ndola to advance 3-0 over the two legs.
Guinea was 2-0 victor in Casablanca to also advance in convincing fashion.
Gabon qualified Saturday with the remaining 14 places to be decided Tuesday at the conclusion of the second round of knockout matches. — Agencies
