March 24, (THEWILL) – Turkey achieved promotion to the highest level of the UEFA Nations League for the first time following a commanding 3-0 victory against Hungary on Sunday evening. The result completed a comprehensive 6-1 aggregate win, marking the first time since 2006 that Turkey had defeated Hungary on Hungarian soil.
Hungary began the match with attacking intent, creating early opportunities. Barnabas Varga missed from close range in the opening minutes, while Daniel Gazdag was denied by an excellent save from Ugurcan Cakır. Dominik Szoboszlai nearly scored with a long-range free-kick that struck the crossbar, but it was Turkey who took control thereafter.
Vincenzo Montella’s side opened the scoring through Hakan Calhanoglu, who converted a penalty after Attila Fiola fouled Ismail Yuksek. The visitors doubled their advantage minutes later when Real Madrid player Arda Guler finished from close range after receiving a pass from Oguz Aydın, effectively ending Hungarian hopes of a comeback.
The hosts struggled to mount a serious response despite enjoying substantial possession. Loic Nego had a volley saved in a rare attacking moment, while Kevin Csoboth wasted a promising opportunity when through on goal. Turkey completed the scoring in the 90th minute when Abdulkerim Bardakcı headed in a cross from Barıs Alper Yılmaz at the far post.
Hungary’s relegation from the top tier comes after a winless run extending to four matches, their longest such sequence since 2021. For Turkey, the result caps consecutive promotions in the Nations League competition, with five victories in their previous seven outings demonstrating their continued improvement on the international stage.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
