Bayern Munich forward, Jamal Musiala scored again as Germany continued their winnings in the Euro Championship with victory over Hungary to become the first side through to the knockout stages.
Musiala impressed throughout and netted midway through the first half, showing a nice effort some inches past the post afterwards, and was later given a standing ovation when he was substituted late in the second half.
Hungary, frustrated with his opener, claimed a foul from Ilkay Gundogan on defender Willi Orban before the Barcelona midfielder passed the ball to Musiala to fire into the roof of the net.
A video assistant referee (VAR) check confirmed the on-field decision as Musiala celebrated with his team-mates in front of Hungary supporters behind the goal.
Hungary thought they had snatched an equaliser on the stroke of half-time but Roland Sallai’s rebound header was ruled out for a clear offside.
Instead, Germany extended their lead in the second half when former Manchester City player Gundogan was left unmarked to slot comfortably past goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
After their dominant 5-1 win over Scotland, Germany were made to work harder for the win here – with Hungary threatening on occasions and defending stubbornly.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai showed his quality on set-pieces, curling a terrific effort goalwards which needed saving by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Szoboszlai came close again in a bright period in the first half but was denied by an excellent block from Jonathan Tah.
Germany’s performance was encouraging though. They showed patches of creativity and control, doing enough to get over the line and make it six points from their opening two games.
Their place in the last 16 is confirmed and victory over Switzerland in Frankfurt on Sunday (20:00 BST) would put them through as Group A winners.
It is a damaging outcome for Hungary, following their opening defeat by Switzerland, and they will need to bounce back from their frustrations to beat Scotland next to have any chance of going through.
Germany have now scored seven goals in the tournament, more than they netted in their four matches at Euro 2020
Hungary are on the edge of exiting the Euro Championship but they will feel hard done by because they created enough to trouble the hosts in Stuttgart, and were much-improved out of possession.
After a poor defensive display against Switzerland, this was a Hungary side close to their best as Szoboszlai led them, driving them up the pitch and creating chances, while providing the quality they needed on set-pieces.
It was his free-kick that was headed in by Sallai, only to be declared offside, after he had tested Neuer and continued to provide service for Hungary’s attackers.
Barnabas Varga headed over the bar in another good move for Hungary but they could not find the equaliser they needed to concern Germany and now have a tough task to stay in the tournament.
Germany eased their way through the second half, defending their box, freshening up their attack and relying on the experience of Toni Kroos to keep things ticking in midfield.
Antonio Rudiger and Tah’s partnership at the back is strengthening and Neuer only had to make three saves – two were back-to-back when he prevented Szoboszlai’s curling free-kick and the resulting rebound from squeezing inside the post in the first half.
Aside from a 90th-minute goalline clearance from Joshua Kimmich, Germany were in full control and Gundogan’s cool finish put the icing on the cake as fans chanted, waved flags and bounced on their feet until full-time, celebrating in the stands and giving him a warm applause when their captain was substituted.
Optimism has been growing in Germany this week as supporters sense an opportunity for this talented squad to do well on home soil, and this latest victory will only add to that.
It was not the free-flowing performance they produced in their opening match, albeit against 10-man Scotland, but it was certainly a good one at this stage of the competition.
