Norway remain favourites to reach Euro 2016, says Hungary boss

Hungary remain the underdogs to qualify for Euro 2016 despite their first-leg play-off win, according to coach Bernd Storck.

The Hungarians have one foot on the plane to next year’s tournament in France after debutant Laszlo Kleinheisler earned the visitors  a 1-0 victory over Norway in Oslo on Thursday.

Storck, however, said via UEFA.com: “Norway remain favourites – they have excellent players.

“We need to play like we did today, or we will have problems [in Budapest on Sunday].

“We are in a good position [leading 1-0 after the first leg]. We did this for Hungarian football. We want to complete this job on Sunday – we need success.”

The home team did dominate possession in the second but lacked cutting edge up front – Pal Helland almost rescuing a draw for Norway in the closing stages, only to see his effort hit the crossbar.

Norway boss Per-Mathias Hogmo remains upbeat about his team’s chances heading into the return leg, though.

“We are at the halfway stage [of the tie]. We are already looking forward to the return in Hungary,” said Hogmo.

“We played well, made a fantastic start and created two early chances. Unfortunately, we were not sharp in the box.

“I told the players: let this result motivate you for Sunday.”