Gyfli Sigurdsson gave Iceland the lead in the first half when he converted a penalty after a foul.
Hungary dominated possession from then on but found themselves repeatedly frustrated by the Iceland defence.
However, Saevarsson turned Nemanja Nikolic's cross into his own net to hand Hungary a point.
The result means the Hungarians are top of Group F with four points and can clinch first place with victory against Portugal in their final group game on Wednesday.
Iceland's defence a tough nut to crack
Cristiano Ronaldo was critical of Iceland's defensive style of football earlier this week
The point for Iceland means they are second in the group and remain in the hunt for a place in the last 16, but it will feel like a defeat after they frustrated Hungary for so long.
They had won plenty of new fans by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their first game on Tuesday, a result that prompted some scathing comments from Cristiano Ronaldo, who descried the Icelanders as having "a small mentality" and playing only to defend.
Iceland, though, are simply playing to their strengths. They conceded only six goals in 10 games during qualifying, earning wins by making the most of limited opportunities.
On Saturday, the Hungarians found themselves continually frustrated by a well-organised and disciplined backline and their task got harder six minutes before half-time. Veteran goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly fumbled a cross, Gunnarsson was sent to the ground by Kadar inside the area and Sigurdsson kept his cool to send Kiraly the wrong way from the spot.
From then on, it was all Hungary but it looked as if Iceland's defence would triumph again until Saevarsson, under pressure from Hungary substitute Daniel Bode, poked beyond his own goalkeeper.
It continued a run of late drama at Euro 2016, with Saevarsson's unfortunate goal the 13th to come after 85 minutes.
Kiraly can play better
Gabor Kiraly kept a clean sheet in Hungary's opening game, but produced a few nervous moments against Iceland
Hungary ended a three-decade run of missing out on major tournaments by qualifying for Euro 2016, and they made up for lost time with an impressive 2-0 win over Austria in their opening group game.
Having beaten Iceland in each of their past five meetings, they will have gone into the game confident of securing successive wins at a major tournament for the first time since the 1966 World Cup.
Gabor Kiraly caught the eye against the Austrians, both for his attire and his saves, as he became the oldest player to play at European Championship finals at the age of 40 years and 75 days,
However, he was less impressive on Saturday, putting his defence under pressure with poor passes before flapping at the ball to add to the panic that led to Iceland's penalty.
It was a nervy performance by the former Crystal Palace man, who will need to improve when facing Ronaldo and colleagues in Hungary's final group game against Portugal.
No comments:
Post a Comment