Gera names his U21 squad for Euro group stage

In addition to the 23 squad members, there are five players on standby in case of injury or illness. Of these 28, eleven arrived in Telki today for the start of tournament preparations, the rest due to join up over the coming week as they post negative virus test results.

Gera took the U21 reins in mid-2019 and has since used 39 players, but several others have been named in this tournament squad who've not yet made their debuts at this level but who have impressed so far thisspring season, for example, Pál Dárdai junior, Balázs Bese, Attila Mocsi, Olivér Tamás, Benedek Varju, Mihály Kata and Alen Skribek.

Furthermore, this may be on average the youngest squad in the tournament, given that 15 of the 23 players named will be eligible to play in the next edition too. Players born on or after 1st January 1998 can participate in the tournament finals but Gera's group includes players born in 2000, 2001 and even in 2002.

The Hungarian U21 national team coached by Gera will take on Germany in Székesfehérvár on 24th March, three days before they host Romania in the Bozsik Stadium. Three days later, on 30th March, the Netherlands will be their opponent in the last group match in Székesfehérvár, M4 Sport broadcasting all three of Hungary's matches live.

Zoltán Gera speaking to mlsz.hu:
"There are positions for which we've had to make a difficult decision because there have been several players who have proved they can be counted upon during the last 18 months, but not all of them can play in the European Championship. We've sought to select players who play regularly in their club teams, some of whom are three or four years younger than the rest, but who have shown that they merit a place at the European Championship. We have three very difficult matches ahead of us, but I trust every player in the squad and that we'll be competitive against even the strongest opponents in this tournament".

The 23-man Hungary U21 squad:

Goalkeepers:
Patrik Demjén (ZTE)
Balázs Bese (Budafok)
Péter Kovács (Budaörs)

Defenders:
Bendegúz Bolla (MOL Fehérvár)
András Huszti (Budafoki MTE)
Botond Balogh (Parma)
Benedek Varju (MTK Budapest)
Attila Mocsi (Haladás)
Tamás Olivér (Paks)
László Deutsch (Puskás Akadémia)

Midfielders:
András Csonka (Budafok MTE)
Mihály Kata (MTK Budapest)
Norbert Szendrei (Budapest Honvéd)
Kristóf Hinora (Vasas)
Szabolcs Mezei (MTK Budapest)
Martin Palincsár (MTK Budapest)

Forwards:
Tamás Kiss (Puskás Akadémia)
Pál Dárdai (MOL Fehérvár)
Márk Kovácsréti (Kisvárda)
Alen Skribek (Budafok)
Adrian Szőke (Heracles)
Donát Bárány (DVSC)
Dániel Zsóri (Budafoki MTE)