Hungary were held to a 0-0 draw in their first meeting with the Ivory Coast as they warmed up for next month’s Euro 2016 finals, which will be their first major tournament for 30 years.
The hosts, who were playing in their penultimate friendly before they face Germany in their last warm-up, had couple of sights of goal, but were unable to find the finishing touch.
In the 20th minute, Adam Gyurcso’s free-kick from a tight angle was parried for a corner by Sylvain Gbohouo.
Photo: AP
Hungary missed their best chance in the 33rd, when Gyurcso was one-on-one with Gbohouo, who made a great save with the rebound blocked by Lamine Kone as Adam Szalai tried to tap in.
“We played well in the first half, the players deserved this result against last year’s African Champions, they should be proud,” Hungary coach Bernd Storck said.
“In the second half we rushed some play and made lot of mistakes,” the German said.
Ivory Coast, missing Yaya Toure and Gervinho, were lackluster in the first half and created their only chance after the break when captain Salomon Kalou’s powerful header flew over the bar in the 53rd minute.
Their French coach Michel Dussuyer saw his side improve, but said he was not satisfied with their first-half performance.
Hungary, who are in Group F with Iceland, Austria and Portugal, are to play their final warm-up before the European Championship on June 4 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
They reached Euro 2016 by beating Norway 3-1 on aggregate in the playoffs, ending a 30-year wait to reach a major tournament, having failed to qualify since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
They last played in the European Championship in 1972, when they finished fourth.
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