Attila Szalai recalled to national squad

Hungary head coach Marco Rossi has announced a bigger squad than usual, 26 names appearing on his list this time. As well as the two new, aforementioned names of Bence Dárdai and Alex Tóth, the reappearance of Szalai comes following regular first-team football in the Belgian professional league, while another familiar name, Callum Styles, is also back.

"We've decided to select four goalkeepers because Dénes Dibusz only returned from injury on Sunday, as did striker Barnabás Varga," Rossi told mlsz.hu. "It's a precaution, but we see this as the right decision. Amongst the defenders, Attila Szalai is starting to regain his best form, having started three of Standard Liege’s last four matches. We have two great players for this position in Marci Dárdai and Attila, so we'll see which one will be in better shape and earns their chance, because the Turkey forwards are very fast and agile and you have to put serious pressure on them between the lines, because they are so dynamic. Regarding others, I can say that I've often stated that I prefer to rely on those who play regularly, but between a player who plays regularly with fewer qualities and a player who plays a little less but can perform at international level, I almost always choose the latter. Our two newcomers are Bence Dárdai and Alex Tóth. Alex plays regularly for Fradi and performs well in midfield, while Bence is mostly a substitute, but he regularly gets opportunities in the Bundesliga in a pretty strong team, so I think this is the right time to call him into the squad."

Hungary will take on their Turkish counterparts in Istanbul on 20th March, in what will be the 1,000th match in the history of the men's full national team, before they host Vincenzo Montella's team in the Puskás Arena three days later, the aggregate scoreline after these two legs, deciding which country will be in the next Nations League in League A and which in League B.

"We know a lot about Turkey and that they have an excellent team," Rossi began his analysis of his team's next opponent to mlsz.hu. "Although they played in League B of the Nations League last year, most of their players play in top European leagues, and those who don’t, play in the top teams of the similarly strong Turkish league such as Galatasaray or Fenerbahce. They are deadly dangerous in midfield and in the attacking third, their attackers are very quick. Their midfielders are extremely technical and the defence is very stable. Their team’s market value is three times ours, so we have a very tough task ahead of us against them. We should definitely expect a hellish atmosphere in the match in Istanbul, so we have to prepare ourselves mentally for that."

Hungary's squad members will meet in Telki on Monday 17th March.

The Hungary national squad:

Goalkeepers:
Dénes Dibusz (Ferencvárosi TC)
Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig)
Krisztián Hegyi (Debreceni VSC)
Péter Szappanos (Paksi FC)

Defenders:
Botond Balogh (Parma)
Endre Botka (Kecskeméti TE)
Márton Dárdai (Hertha BSC)
Attila Fiola (Újpest FC)
Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig)
Attila Szalai (Standard Liege)

Midfielders:
Bendegúz Bolla (Rapid Wien)
Bence Dárdai (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Mihály Kata (MTK)
Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth)
Zsolt Nagy (Puskás Akadémia FC)
Loic Nego (Le Havre AC)
Tamás Nikitscher (Valladolid)
András Schäfer (Union Berlin)
Callum Styles (West Bromwich Albion)
Alex Tóth (Ferencvárosi TC)

Forwards:
Kevin Csoboth (St. Gallen)
Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union)
Roland Sallai (Galatasaray)
Levente Szabó (Braunschweig)
Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool FC)
Barnabas Varga (Ferencvárosi TC)

The Hungarian men’s national team is preparing for its 1,000th match

Hungary will reach a significant milestone on 20th March 20, when its men's national team will play its 1000th official match against Turkey in Istanbul and the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) is preparing several special events to mark the occasion. The draw for the Nations League play-offs wasn't ideal in terms of this celebration, because the milestone will be reached away from home, so the Hungarian Football Federation will celebrate this remarkable, historic number of matches in an appropriate way in the second leg at home against Turkey. During this international period in March, fans will be able to see designs commemorating the thousand matches on MLSZ's media platforms, while the official match programme will also have a celebratory design. MLSZ's media partner, M4 Sport will broadcast an all-day series of programmes, which will recall some of Hungary's most exciting and memorable matches so far.