Stuttgart/Cologne, 20 June 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Hosts Germany became the first side to qualify for the Euro 2024 last 16 after Jamal Musiala's goal and an Ilkay Gündogan strike in a 2-0 win over an enterprising Hungary on Wednesday.

Croatia's draw with Albania earlier and the situation in Group C means there will be at least two third-placed sides who cannot match Germany's six points. The four best third-placed teams out of six groups qualify for the knock-out stages alongside each top two.

"I'm mostly happy, it was a tough game and against awkward opponents," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann told ARD TV. "The spaces were very tight, we found the gaps well with the second goal. We showed patience."

Man of the match Gündogan added: "We had to overcome difficulties and I think that showed in the first half. In the second half, we controlled it well."

In the other Group A match, Scotland remained alive after conceding a 1-1 draw to Switzerland. The Swiss side, meanwhile, missed the chance of reaching the last 16 with one game to spare.

Fabian Schär scored an own goal to give the Scots the lead in the 13th minute. But Scotland's sloppy mistake in the 26th allowed Xherdan Shaqiri to find an equalizer with a wonderful finish.

"Unfortunately the goal wasn't enough. Of course we had a few chances to score, but this is football, sometimes the ball doesn't go in," Shaqiri told ARD.

Relief for Germany

Germany crashed out in the group stage of the last two World Cups while only made the last 16 in the last Euros.

Their 5-1 thrashing of Scotland lit up the opening game and Nagelsmann unsurprisingly kept the same line-up. This time his team were in their new pink away shirts, which have become best sellers.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban were in attendance in Stuttgart and had to quickly take their seats as Manuel Neuer was forced into a save from Roland Sallai inside the first 20 seconds.

Neuer was kept busy throughout on his 17th Euro appearance as he moved level with ex-Italy icon Gianluigi Buffon as the goalkeeper with the most Euro outings.

The Germany keeper had been under pressure coming into the tournament after blunders in the warm-up games but the doubters have been silenced for a while.

"It was very important to confirm our Scotland display," he said.

The breakthrough came midway through the first half when Musiala netted his second of the Euros after good work from captain Gündogan.

Neuer was then called into action again by a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick as Hungary pushed hard.

But Gündogan settled matters on 67 minutes when he swept in left back Maximilian Mittelstädt's low cross.

Hungary's hopes of progressing are slim and they will need a win against Scotland on Sunday for a chance to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.

Coach Marco Rossi said: "I said (to the team) that I had nothing to regret. We made some mistakes, but some mistakes in football happen, you can make mistakes. Teams like Germany and other world class teams play better than us, we know that."

Woodwork denies Scotland the win

Scotland took the lead in the 13th as they broke from a Switzerland free-kick and Callun McGregor set up Scott McTominay. His first-time shot was deflected by Schär past keeper Yann Sommer.

Switzerland, however, were on target after a slack backpass from Anthony Ralston. That turned into an assist to Shaqiri, who completed a stunning finish from the edge of the box.

Scotland keeper Angus Gunn kept the game level in the 32nd as he denied Dan Ndoye's powerful shot. Ndoye scored from the resulting corner, but he was offside and the goal was ruled out.

Scotland had a big moment in the 67th when Grant Hanley met Andy Robertson's free-kick, but smashed it against the post.

Breel Embolo thought he had Switzerland's winner in the 83rd, but his goal was ruled out for offside.

"We were a lot more happy with that performance. We'll take the draw and we've taken it into the last game and that's all we can ask," Scotland captain Robertson said.

Calculations to reach the knock-out stages

Switzerland need a draw against hosts Germany in the final group stage match on Sunday to advance to the last 16.

"We will do our best to prepare for the game, it will be another calibre," Shaqiri said.

Scotland, meanwhile, will gladly take the point as it maintains their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages of a major tournament for the first time. They face Hungary in the last Group A match.

"We need to go again Sunday because that's a massive game for us now. We can take a lot of positives from tonight but we can also tweak a little thing and improve even more and that's a good thing," Robertson said.

Scotland, however, will probably be without Kieran Tierney, who had to be carried out on a stretcher with a hamstring injury.