Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan. (Photo : Getty Images)
Surprise team Hungary will battle FIFA's second-ranked national squad Belgium in the 2016 UEFA European Championship's round-of-16 stage in a match to be held at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse on June 26, Sunday.
Hungary had defied the odds all tournament so far as they topped Group F even with powerhouse squads Portugal and Austria in the bracket.
Along with Iceland, who is also a team not favored to advance in the knockouts but did, Nemzeti Tizenegy had blazed their way to a convincing 2-0 victory over Austria during their tourney-opener and then followed by a 1-1 draw with the surprising Strákarnir okkar themselves in the second round.
In the third and final round of the group stage, head coach Bernd Storck's boys stayed at par with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal team, 3-3, at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon on Wednesday to officially earn first place in the group standings, as per ESPN.
Meanwhile, tournament favorites Belgium has not lived up to expectations after the group competitions although they managed to finish second in Group E.
Head coach Marc Wilmots' side is projected to walkover the group stage because of players such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Carrasco, and Dries Mertens leading the offense up front, while on the defensive end Radja Nainggolan, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois are taking care of business.
However, they were beaten by the Italians in their opener and struggled to defeat Zlatan Ibrahimović's Sweden eleven, 1-0, at the Allianz Riviera in Nice also on Wednesday during their round three fixture, via the Mirror.
Their only convincing victory came in the second round, a 3-0 thrashing of the Republic of Ireland, but other than that the Belgians do not appear to be the second best team in the world that they are rated right now.
De Rode Duivels are still favored to win in this matchup with the Magical Magyars, although it will depend on what kind of Belgian team will show up in the contest. It should also be noted that together with Wales, Hungary is the best offensive team in the tournament so far, scoring six goals after three rounds of group competitions.
Hungary's defense remains to be their weakness, though, and if Belgium can exploit that then they will prevail in this match.
The predicted result is a high-scoring 3-2 decision for Belgium.
Hungary starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Kiraly; Lang, Juhasz, Guzmics, Korhut; Gera, Pinter; Lovrencsics, Elek, Dzsudzsak; Szalai
Belgium starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Courtois; Meunier, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Nainggolan, Witsel; Carrasco, De Bruyne, Hazard; Lukaku
