Dzsudzsák breaks caps record before Kalmár KO's Greece

2022. november. 20., 23:16   |    

Dzsudzsák breaks caps record before Kalmár KO's Greece

Balázs Dzsudzsák broke the all-time men's international appearance record by winning his 109th cap for Hungary before goals by Roland Sallai and Zsolt Kalmár sealed a 2-1 victory over Greece in the Puskás Arena in Budapest on Sunday evening.

Head coach Marco Rossi named an experienced lineup for this international friendly, Dénes Dibusz starting in goal behind a back three of Endre Botka, Willi Orbán and Attila Szalai.  five-man midfield was comprised of Attila Fiola, Callum Styles, Ádám Nagy, Balázs Dzsudzsák, and Milos Kerkez with Roland Sallai and Dominik Szoboszlai providing attacking guile upfront.

First blood went to Hungary when Sallai neatly exchanged passes with Callum Styles on the left side of the opposing penalty area and dispatched the return ball low into the right half of Greece's goal in the 15th minute of the first half.

A tight match devoid of many scoring chances saw two debutants step on the pitch for the home team, goalkeeper Péter Szappanos and forward Pál Dárdai junior (son of the former national-team captain and head coach Pál senior) as two of a raft of substitutes over the course of the game, but Hungary couldn't make the game safe and instead Gustavo Poyet's Greece team levelled matters with just nine minutes left of the regulation ninety when Styles needlessly fouled a Greek attacker in the hosts' penalty area and Anastasios Bakasetas equalised from the spot.

However, Kalmár - still on his way back to full fitness after a horrific knee injury nearly two years ago - showed why Rossi still rates the mercurial forward so highly when he fired a 93-minute free-kick low, past the visitors' defensive wall and into the unguarded far right side of the Greece goal to secure a 2-1 victory in front of a 51,000 crowd.


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