More Musiala magic sees Germany beat Hungary 2-0 and reach Euro 2024 knockout stage

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Jamal Musiala is lighting up the European Championship and showing just why his teammates think the 21-year-old forward can go on to become one of the best players in the world.

Musiala scored his second goal of the tournament on Wednesday to help Germany beat Hungary 2-0 and book its spot in the knockout stage.

“For me it’s incredible to play with him, he can do the unexpected in every single situation,” Germany captain İlkay Gündoğan said. "Maybe he’s the most important one at the moment for us and at such a young age as well.

“And, I love him. He’s such a complete player and such a nice guy as well. Very humble. And if he keeps doing his thing, the way he’s doing right now, he can be one of the best.”

Musiala opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a goal that was furiously protested by Hungary. Gündoğan had set that up and got on the scoresheet himself in the second half.

Musiala had netted Germany’s second goal in the 5-1 opening victory over Scotland on Friday to kick off Euro 2024. Hungary lost 3-1 to Switzerland on Saturday and now faces an uphill challenge to advance.

“He did brilliant in both games,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said. "Not only the two goals, I think every situation or offensive proposition is pretty tough for the opponent to defend.

“I think it’s important for him not to deal with the pressure, just to deal with his capability to solve any offensive one-on-one situations ... He should not think about the pressure, because he’s brilliant in just playing soccer.”

Hungary plays Scotland in the final Group A match on Sunday, when Nagelsmann's team takes on Switzerland.

Germany is definitely into the next round at least as a best third-place team. It will be confirmed in the top two if Scotland fails to beat Switzerland later Wednesday.

Hungary was unbeaten in its previous three matches against Germany and it put up a good fight against the host nation in Stuttgart.

Coach Marco Rossi said his players paid the price for what he felt was unbalanced refereeing.

“Throughout my career, first as player and then as coach, I have never looked for alibis,” Rossi said. “But what the referee did tonight … I think even the Germans saw that he used two different measurements.

“Germany would have still won, it’s stronger and it would have won, but the referee was the worst on the field.”

Rossi’s side started aggressively and stunned Germany by almost taking the lead inside 20 seconds. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to be quick off his line to slide to the ball to stop Roland Sallai.

The noise level ramped up every time Musiala had the ball and the Stuttgart-born forward opened the scoring in chaotic fashion.

Musiala tried to set up Gündoğan but Hungary defender Willi Orbán got to the ball first. However, he stumbled — following what Hungary protested was a shove by Gündoğan — and as shotstopper Péter Gulácsi tried to help him, Gündoğan poked it on to Musiala, who smashed it into the net with the goalkeeper still on the ground.

“I was quite surprised that the Hungarian player and his teammates were angry about it,” Gündoğan said. “I played in the Premier League for seven years and if you gave that in the Premier League as a foul I think everyone would have been laughing on the floor.”

Hungary almost leveled immediately but Neuer did brilliantly to parry Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick and then keep out a follow-up with his foot. The crowd celebrated the save almost as loudly as it had done the goal.

The loud home fans thought Musiala had doubled his tally at the end of the half but his shot was deflected, hitting the side netting and making it ripple so that even Nagelsmann appeared to think it had gone in.

Germany was seemingly in control in the second half and did get a second in the 68th minute when Maximilian Mittelstädt rolled the ball across from the left and Gündoğan drove it into the bottom right corner.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Germany's head coach Julian Nagelsmann, right, greets Hungary's coach Marco Ross, left, before a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Germany's Ilkay Gundogan, left, and Toni Kroos, right, smile after a Group A match at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer stops a shot during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Germany's head coach Julian Nagelsmann, right, and assistant coach Sandro Wagner react during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Germany's Jamal Musiala celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Germany's Jamal Musiala, third left, scores the opening goal during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Hungary's Andras Schafer, left, and Germany's Jamal Musiala vie for the ball during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Hungary players cheer fans at the end of a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai (10) applauds on the pitch after a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Hungary's Marton Dardai, left, shakes hands with Germany's Niclas Fuellkrug after a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Hungary's Attila Fiola, left, clears the ball ahead of Germany's Niclas Fuellkrug (9) during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Germany's Ilkay Gundogan, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Germany's Jamal Musiala (10) celebrates after scoring during a Group A match between Germany and Hungary at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A sexual assault trial started Monday for a New Hampshire man whose arrest more than seven years ago kicked off one of the biggest youth detention scandals in U.S. history.

Former youth counselor Jeffrey Buskey, 60, of Litchfield, faces allegations involving four boys held at the Youth Development Center in Manchester in the late 1990s. In the first of his cases to go to trial, he is charged with 21 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault involving David Meehan, who was 14 when he arrived at the facility now called the Sununu Youth Services Center in 1995.

Meehan filed the first of more than 1,100 lawsuits alleging physical, sexual or emotional abuse spanning six decades. His allegations led to the arrest of Buskey and another former worker in 2019, an unprecedented criminal investigation, nine additional arrests, and the establishment of a settlement fund to compensate victims.

As testimony got underway Monday, prosecutor Audriana Mekula asked Meehan, “What is YDC to you?”

“Hell,” he answered.

During his civil trial, Meehan described Buskey's transformation from trusted father figure to horrific abuser, testifying that he gave him soda and snacks and let him play basketball with a local high school team before subjecting him to near-daily rapes.

“It went from being somebody I trusted, that I thought was not just there to help me, but somebody I thought cared for me, to hurt,” he said.

The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly, as Meehan has done. A jury awarded him $38 million in May 2024, though that verdict remains in dispute as the state seeks to reduce the amount to $475,000.

In his opening statement Monday, Associate Attorney General Thomas Velardi told jurors that Meehan had intended to take his experiences to the grave but finally told his wife in 2017 when he feared one of their sons might get sent to the facility.

“What you’re going to hear is a true horror story of what a 16-year-old boy was put through,” he told jurors. “The very thought of his own flesh and blood being sent to this same place where he was terrorized finally broke the seal for him on keeping this secret.”

He said Buskey used violence and the threat of it to overpower or coerce Meehan, who he said eventually stopped fighting back.

“It just became a way of life, whether he was fighting or he was just trying to survive,” he said.

In a police interview transcript recently filed in court, Buskey couldn’t remember his home address from the 1990s and struggled to spell his then-fiancée’s last name, but brought up Meehan’s name unprompted. He denied abusing him, saying they had a “great relationship.”

“I was always nice to the kid, I was always trying to help him," he said.

In her opening statement, defense attorney Delia McCarthy told jurors there is no evidence to corroborate Meehan’s allegations. Meehan’s room was in a central hallway in a building that was “like an echo chamber,” she said, making it impossible that he could have been violently assaulted without anyone else noticing.

McCarthy also said the trial will highlight inconsistencies in Meehan’s claims. He has suffered from mental illness since childhood and as an adult, experienced delusions and hallucinations, she said.

“This is an unbelievable story, contradicted by the records and the people who were there and told by an unreliable, deeply troubled storyteller,” she said.

The youth center, which once housed upward of 100 children but now typically serves fewer than a dozen, is named for former Gov. John H. Sununu. Lawmakers have approved closing the facility, which now only houses those accused or convicted of the most serious violent crimes, and replacing it with a much smaller building in a new location.

In the other criminal cases, three men have been convicted: Bradley Asbury, Stanley Watson and James Woodlock. Jurors acquitted Jonathan Brand and deadlocked in the case of Victor Malavet, leading to a mistrial. Charges were dropped against Trevor Middleton; Frank Davis was declared incompetent to stand trial, and Gordon Searles died while awaiting trial. Stephen Murphy, who has pending charges, had one trial end in mistrial and another end with an acquittal on three charges and a hung jury on five others. Lucien Poulette is awaiting trial.

FILE - Youth Development Center. plaintiff David Meehan testifies as his intake photo, when he was 14 is displayed during his civil trial at Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood, N.H. on April 17, 2024. (David Lane/Union Leader via AP, Pool, file)