Experiments still possible against Estonia

In a particularly successful year, Ádám Lang spent the most minutes on the pitch of all Hungary's men's national team. According to him, this should not be so surprising, since he always brings to the national team great enthusiasm and motivation:

"I feel good and I'm in good shape, despite the fact that things are up and down at my club," Lang said. "When I come home, I get on the plane almost as a new person. I always come home to the national team happy, because organised and professional work is being done, so we can create something. The team is constantly developing and I'm very happy to be a part of this process! I'd rather not estimate our chances in the European qualifiers. The group is balanced, and there will be a hardfought battle for every point on the pitch, so we have to go step by step. We can take the first step tomorrow against Estonia by preparing as well as possible for the match against Bulgaria, because we really need the three points on Monday. We want to continue what we've started; we want to achieve, we have big goals and the fans appreciate that. We get tremendous support from the crowd".

Meanwhile, Rossi, preparing for his 50th game as Hungary head coach, recalled that he'd told his team after his first game against Finland in Tampere, that he didn't think that he'd have many more games in the role.

"For me, it is a source of great pride that I can sit on the bench as coach of the Hungarian men's national team for the 50th time", Rossi began. "I will certainly experience strong emotions, but really I'm preparing in the same way as usual; the two matches ahead of us are just as important as any other match up to now or to come. As long as I'm the Hungarian national team's head coach, I'll strive to be competitive from match to match, because we respect the traditions of the Hungarian national team and we respect the jersey with the badge on it. We'll already be preparing for the match against Bulgaria during the Estonia match, because we really want to get off to a good start in the (Euro 2024) qualifying campaign. I'll be able to try out some ideas against Estonia, but I'll also be careful not to overburden anyone before Monday's match. Our excellent team spirit is extremely important and fortunately we've been able to create an environment which the players are happy to join, to come home to the national team, so to speak. This is due to the attitude of the guys, their desire and their collaboration".

Rossi also stated that although he doesn't plan to make many changes between the starting teams for the two matches, he'll still have the opportunity to try out some new ideas in the friendly fixture, with the overall focus firmly on the second game:

"The Hungarian national team is not just a set of selected players, but a team that is used to being there, and we have to think like that. The routines previously learned are valuable, which is why continuity is important and one should only make multiple changes at the same time out of necessity. I have some ideas about what I want to try against the Estonians. During training, the players reacted well and were fully engaged in this, so I'm confident that our ideas will work on the pitch too. There's still room for experimentation against Estonia, but we have to get it right in Monday's match - there'll be no room for second chances. Therefore, on Thursday, against Estonia, we'll play with the starting team which is closest to my idea of the one which would start against Bulgaria".

Match tickets to both home matches in the coming days are still available on the meccsjegy.mlsz.hu web portal.