Hungary
secured a spot at next year's European Championship by beating Norway 2-1 on
Sunday, ending a 30-year absence from major football tournaments.
Tamas
Priskin scored early and Norway's Ole Selnes netted an own-goal in the 84th
minute as Hungary reached their first major competition since the 1986 World
Cup with a 3-1 aggregate victory. They last played in the Euros in 1972.
Priskin
scored in the 14th minute, deftly controlling a long pass from Tamas Kadar
before eluding a pair of defenders and shooting into the upper left corner, out
of reach of Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.
Markus
Henriksen pulled one back in the 87th but it was a mere consolation for Norway,
who lost 1-0 in Oslo on Thursday.
"It was
a fantastic performance," said Hungary coach Bernd Storck, whose lineup
included several players who don't get much playing time with their club teams.
"I told them to play with confidence, play without fear and you will have
success."
Norway coach
Per-Mathias Hogmo said failing to score at home complicated his team's chances
in Budapest, as they were forced into an attacking game from the start.
"Hungary
was better than us during two games," Hogmo said. "I'm very
disappointed we didn't come up to a better level."
Norway were
trying to reach the Euros for the first time since 2000.
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