Tournament favourites Belgium take on Hungary on Sunday in Toulouse for a place in the last eight of Euro 2016. Wales lie in wait for the victors on 1 July in Lille. Belgium suffered a shock in their opening game in Group E when they were dismantled 2-0 by an unfancied Italy side in Lyon.
The Belgians recovered their poise to sweep past Ireland 3-0 in Bordeaux before securing their place in the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Sweden.
The Hungarians were the surprise winners of Group F by overcoming Austria and taking a point from both Iceland and Portugal.
Marc Wilmots, the Belgium coach, said he and his team accepted the tag of favourites. “I have no problem with that,” he said. “We have to have the ball, dominate and tie them down to create one-on-one match-ups in the last 30 metres.”
Wilmots added: “They are very compact in defence, so we have to be patient and play at pace. Hungary will fight until the end.”
His Hungary counterpart, Bernd Storck, says his players face an enormous task. “We will play the team which is second in the Fifa rankings. They are an excellent side. It’s not for me to say if they are a golden generation but they all play at top clubs and have won a lot of trophies.”
Storck added: “We are very happy to be in the round of 16, I think we deserve it. We have played good football and have kept improving. We have to concentrate on our strengths, be strong in defence and clinical when we have chances.”
