Football
ESPN staff 8y

Belgium wary of underdogs Hungary in Euro 2016 second round

Belgium boss Marc Wilmots and his players are not underestimating Hungary ahead of Sunday's round of 16 game.

Wilmots' Belgium qualified in second place from Group E thanks to wins over Republic of Ireland and Sweden.

But last-16 opponents Hungary surprisingly topped Group F ahead of Iceland, conceding just once in their opening two games before showing a more creative side in the 3-3 draw with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in their third match.

"Don't make it sound that Hungary will be easy," Wilmots said. "Have you seen Portugal vs. Hungary? 3-3. There are no small nations anymore."

Roma's Radja Nainggolan scored a late long-range goal to secure Wednesday's 1-0 win over Sweden, and the midfielder reiterated his manager's view on Sunday's opponents.

"We are playing against the winner of a group that included Portugal, so we'd better watch it," Nainggolan said. "We might be favourites in theory, but so were Portugal.''

And holding midfielder Axel Witsel, who started all three group matches, agrees that the Red Devils must be wary.

"Hungary have really surprised everyone, but they deserve it," Witsel said. "We'll have to be careful."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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