Dominik Szoboszlai proved he has ice in his veins by scoring a 99th-minute Panenka penalty to earn Hungary a 1-1 draw against Germany on Tuesday night.
Hungary appeared to be heading for a narrow defeat in Budapest when Felix Nmecha put Germany ahead with 14 minutes remaining.
But the hosts were awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time, and Liverpool’s Szoboszlai stepped up to take the responsibility from the spot.
German goalkeeper Alexander Nubel dived to his right, but Szoboszlai kept his cool to dink the ball straight down the middle of the goal.
It was a perfectly executed Panenka, named after Antonin Panenka who famously pulled it off for Czechoslovakia against West Germany to win the 1976 European Championship final for his country.
The final whistle was blown almost immediately after Szoboszlai’s successful spot-kick, with Hungary and Germany having to settle for a point apiece.
Dominik Szoboszlai pulled off a Panenka penalty deep into stoppage time to earn Hungary a draw against Germany
The Liverpool midfielder blew a kiss to the crowd after his moment of magic rescued Hungary
The result confirmed Germany took top spot in their Nations League group to move into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Hungary finished third in the group below the Netherlands after taking six points from as many matches.
Bosnia and Herzegovina ended up bottom of the group and were relegated, despite holding the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw in their final match.
Szoboszlai will now return to England to rejoin Liverpool as Arne Slot’s men bid to keep hold of top spot in the Premier League.
The Hungarian midfielder has not been an automatic starter in recent weeks due to the strong form of Curtis Jones, who also enjoyed a fine international break as he netted for England on his debut in a 3-0 win over Greece last week.
Yet Szoboszlai looked back to his best against Germany, creating more chances (7) than any other player on the pitch, and will hope to get back into Liverpool’s starting XI when they face Southampton on Sunday.
