England's first game of their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign sees them do battle with Hungary at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on Saturday evening.

The Three Lions are ramping up their preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but could only muster a third-placed finish in their Nations League group last year.

Now facing the prospect of daunting clashes with Germany and Italy in League A Group 3, the importance of a fast start against Hungary for England cannot be understated.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at England's head-to-head record against the world's 40th-ranked nation ahead of Saturday's contest.

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Goals were always on the menu during the earliest days of England and Hungary's clashes, with the Three Lions posting a 7-0 win during their inaugural friendly fixture in June 1908 before two further prolific victories in friendly matches.

The tide would soon turn in Hungary's favour after the Second World War, with the Magyars posting four victories in a row between 1953 and 1962, including the two sides' first-ever competitive meeting at the World Cup.

Walter Winterbottom oversaw a 2-1 defeat for England to Hungary during the 1962 World Cup group phase, but the 60th anniversary of the Magyars' most recent win in this fixture has now been and gone.

Indeed, England are unbeaten against their upcoming hosts in 15 successive matches since that loss at the World Cup - winning six on the bounce before a goalless stalemate in a 1988 friendly.

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The Three Lions' seven meetings with Hungary between November 1981 and May 1996 also saw them keep seven consecutive clean sheets against the Magyars, who ended that streak with a 1-1 friendly draw back in 1999.

England's most recent trip to Budapest for a World Cup qualifier in September saw Gareth Southgate's side run riot in a 4-0 success, although the encounter was marred by racist abuse being hurled at the visiting crop.

Hungary's trip to Wembley in October was also an unsavoury affair as their supporters clashed with police in the stands, but Marco Rossi's side performed admirably on the pitch to come away with a 1-1 draw.

In total, England's 24 games with Hungary have produced 16 wins, three draws and five defeats, and a trio of those losses have come away from home for the Three Lions.

Victory for Southgate here would also see him become the first-ever England manager to win back-to-back away games versus Hungary, but the Three Lions boss will not pay much attention to individual records while the job is there to be done on the pitch.

Written by
Ben Knapton