Szabi Schon made his long-awaited return to the pitch for Hungary during their 1-1 draw against Germany.
Schon came off the bench for the final eight minutes at the Puskas Arena and was on the pitch when Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai netted a late spot kick.
The Germans had earlier gone in front through Felix Nmecha, who reacted quickly after Nico Schlotterbeck’s effort had been saved by Denes Dibusz.
The result sees Hungary finish third in their group and they will now play a two-legged relegation play-off in March.
It was Schon’s first appearance for his country since a World Cup qualifier against Poland three years ago.
The wing-back was determined to get back into the national squad when he joined the Whites this summer.
“I am going to train for it and play for it, and it is going to come,” he said several months ago. “I am still young, I believe in myself and I believe that I can get back there one time. This is the most important thing.”
Meanwhile, Josh Sheehan helped Wales secure a return to the top tier of the Nations League as they came from behind to beat Iceland.
Montenegro also beat Turkey, which meant the result in Cardiff was enough to see Craig Bellamy’s side finish top of their group.
Liam Cullen bagged a brace, with Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson also getting on the scoresheet.
Sheehan played 89 minutes in the middle of the pitch before making way for Jordan James in the final stages.
“What I liked was when we went 1-0 down, we were able to play and we moved the ball,” Bellamy said after the final whistle.
“The crowd got a little bit edgy, it’s not normal here to be playing that way. That was the most important thing, we were able to play chests out.
“Maybe we’re not a team that can keep the ball but we were. We believe we’re able to carve our way open in the game. When you look at the mentality of the players, they deserved to finish top.”
