2019. 02. 15..

After Croatia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it was Budapest’s turn to welcome the Colas football teams from the surrounding countries. As a novelty, Central European squads from Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania and Hungary were joined by those from Belgium and Switzerland, representing Colas’ European region, which was expanded last year. Unfortunately, Denmark and Iceland couldn’t make it this year, but as some consolation the Vienna-based Directorate put together a team to enter the tournament. The Hungarian team advanced on from its group with a flawless record after scoring 19 goals while conceding only two.
From the same group, runner-up Slovakia also qualified for the semi-finals. On the other branch, newcomers Belgium and Switzerland showed some impressive skills, and clinched the first two spots in their group. While Slovakia beat Belgium 2-0 in the semis, Hungary won 3-0 against Switzerland, thus the final became a rematch after the host nation’s 4-1 triumph in the group stage. Hungarian players had no time to relax, as the place of the Slovakian squad was well-earned in the final, where they took the lead early in the first half. Fortunately, our squad managed to achieve
a tie in the second half, and the defenders brought their A-game for the rest of the match and allowed no further goals, leaving the decision to a penalty shootout. Zoltán Sámson and Tamás Sárosi scored from the seven-metre spot with great confidence, while our opponents missed two of their penalty kicks – as a result, the Hungarian side came out on top much to the delight of the home crowd. The Switzerland-Belgium bronze match finished with a 3-1 victory by the Belgians. After Prague, the top goal-scorer title went to Tamás Tóth, while Martin Zak from Slovakia was crowned
best goalkeeper. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again later this year in Poland for the qualifying round of the 2020 Colas Team Cup!