Late Hungary equalizer denies Germany in final Nations League group match.

BUDAPEST - Despite already securing qualification, Germany was unable to secure a victory in their final Nations League group match against hosts Hungary on Nov 19, conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai netted a penalty with the last kick of the game to cancel out Felix Nmecha’s 76th minute goal. They had already booked a place in the League A/B playoffs.

After having sealed top spot in Group A3 with a Nov 16 7-0 demolition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann rotated heavily with nine changes to his lineup.

Germany, who finished top on 14 points and advance to the quarter-finals, lacked the explosiveness of the previous match and did not easily find spaces against the Hungarians.

Instead it was the hosts, without assistant coach Adam Szalai who is recovering after collapsing during Saturday’s match against the Netherlands, who set the pace and tested Alexander Nuebel with shots from Andras Schaefer and Zsolt Nagy.

The four-times world champions, with their sights already on the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, improved after the break and hit the post through Kai Havertz in the 63rd minute.

But visiting goalkeeper Nuebel had to come to the rescue once more by palming Barnabas Varga’s effort from point-blank range wide before Nmecha, in his first Germany match as a starter, stabbed in following a goalmouth scramble.

Szoboszlai then bagged the last-gasp penalty for the hosts in the ninth minute of added time.

Germany, who last won the World Cup in 2014, will kick off the qualification competition in March following December’s draw and, after more than decade without any tournament success, they are desperate to restore their international reputation.

The Germans crashed out of the last two World Cups in the first round, while were eliminated in the last 16 at Euro 2020 and the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on home soil.