İlkay Gündoğan proved Pep Guardiola right once again as one of the smartest players to ever grace the field in our generation.

The German international is a key player on Julian Nagelsmann's side, and his performances for the host country in the Euro 2024 group stage games highly buttress this.

The Barça midfielder in the opening game of the competition against Scotland was a menace to the Tartan Army defenders.

He didn't just bag an assist; he was instrumental in sending off the Scottish defender Porteous and earning a penalty that was converted by Kai Havertz in a match that eventually ended in a 5-1 win for the host country.

Today's win against Hungary makes it six points from two matches for Germany and mathematically sets them as the first country to qualify for the last 16 of Euro 2024.

The match ended 2-0, and Gündoğan was the mastermind behind this victory. The Barça midfielder hassled a loose ball to provide the assist for Musiala's first goal of the game before scoring the second himself within the hour mark.

The standing ovation he received when substituted after 83 minutes, with the game almost won at 2-0, was testament to his efforts on the pitch.

And the icing on the cake was him being honored with the Player of the Match award and rated 8.5 by FotMob, the highest in the lineup.

Germany have ensured qualification for the next round of Euro 2024, having been led by Gündoğan, who could be rested in the last match of the group stage against Switzerland.