Hungary qualified for the Euro 2024 finals with a game to spare after a last-gasp own goal from Alex Petkov earned them a 2-2 away draw against Bulgaria in their qualifying Group G on Thursday.
The result put them on top of the group with 15 points from seven games, with an unassailable seven point lead over third-placed Montenegro, who have two games left to play.
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Hungary took the lead through Martin Ádám‘s close-range header following a free kick from captain Dominik Szoboszlai from the right after 10 minutes.
Marco Rossi’s squad seemed close to doubling their lead, but on Bulgaria’s first chance, Spas Delev scored with a shot into the top right corner to make it 1-1 in the 24th minute.
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The hosts were dealt a blow before half-time when they were reduced to nine men after red cards for Valentin Antov and Ilia Gruev, but the VAR intervened to overturn the latter and keep hopes of a Bulgarian comeback alive.
Hungary were also reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Milos Kerkez was sent off and suffered a major setback in the 78th minute as Kiril Despodov scored with a penalty to give Bulgaria a 2-1 lead.
As Hungary got close to suffer their first defeat in a year, Petkov headed in his own goal from a corner seven minutes into stoppage time to send his team into their third consecutive European championship finals.