Two more defenders out but Rossi still optimistic

Head coach Marco Rossi said at a press conference which followed this morning's training session that he'd had to deal with a number of unexpected problems in selecting the squad and that even at the last minute he'd had to contend with player withdrawals, yet he is still optimistic about the match in Turkey and is confident that his group can approach the game full of confidence that they are capable of proving they can be counted upon in the future.

“We've worked a lot on tactics before this training camp, and that has been our most important task over the last two days. Two days is a short time to practise tactical elements of play, and we've also had unexpected difficulties, so I admit we haven’t have an easy time. In total, we've lost no less than 15 players for various reasons, we've had to do without four right-backs and four left-sided defenders," Rossi commented. "However, I am optimistic, I like to see the glass half full and rather focus on this giving us the opportunity to try out new players and open the door for some young footballers. On paper, Turkey are a stronger team than us, but sometimes these kinds of differences disappear on the pitch because it (success) depends on a lot of circumstances. Turkey were able to call up almost all of their top players, so they can enter the pitch with their strongest team, but we can compensate by battling hard and (focusing on) our skills. As with every match, the result is the most important now, but we also have to remember that our most important autumn match will be against Bulgaria, so I would like to see that we have made progress from a tactical point of view".

Rossi added that the squad struggled with mass unavailability in the past, several of our midfielders missing for the away game against Croatia and numerous defenders absent for the recent defeat in Wales.

"We saw in the European Championship qualifiers that we can be competitive with our strongest players against teams stronger than ours, but when key players were absent, the team showed a completely different face. I want our players to play with more confidence, and we have had to move forward psychologically. It is also true in the current situation that we must not be afraid of anyone and we must fight bravely in our matches," Rossi concluded.

Tamás Cseri, one of the national team's potential debutants, said the team is ready for the match and will do everything in Turkey to achieve a good result.

"My first experience has been very good, my teammates have been receptive and I'm glad to be here. We've had a short time to prepare, but we've done everything we could to be on the same wavelength as soon as possible, and we've managed to do that. We are ready for the match and the atmosphere amongst the squad is good, I hope we will show this on the pitch. Our backroom staff have shown us everything about the Turks, so we know that they are a good team, but the same can be said about us and we will be doing our best to leave the pitch with a victory" stated the Mezőkövesd midfielder.