Hungary aiming for first win against Montenegro

This will be the fourth meeting of the two teams, but all those previous clashes were friendly matches. Montenegro have won two of these three meetings so far, with one ending in a draw. The most recent time the two teams played was on 6th September 2019, when tomorrow's opponent defeated Marco Rossi's charges 2-1.

As for the current European qualifying campaign, Hungary has three points after one match, their victory over Bulgaria, while Montenegro has three points from two matches – a win against Bulgaria, and a defeat by Serbia.

In the current world rankings, Hungary occupy 33rd position, while Montenegro are currently 69th. However, at the press conference before the match, both head coach Rossi and midfielder Dániel Gazdag emphasised that the rankings should not be used as a starting point when predicting the victor in tomorrow's match.

“Our team has improved since the previous match between the two national teams - the results show that - but the FIFA ranking alone means nothing, so we are preparing with as much humility as in the past”, confirmed Rossi. “We respect Montenegro, if only because they have internationally reputed players and we know very well that from the first minute, an incredibly tough match awaits us. Everyone will see the starting team before the match tomorrow, but often the game is not decided by the starting lineup, but by the substitutes, so it is important how those who come from the bench perform once they’ve entered the pitch. It should not be forgotten that Montenegro have more players with international experience at club level than we do. Our opponent is a physical team and they have extremely dangerous footballers upfront. Small details will decide this match”.

Dániel Gazdag actually made his international debut in that 2019 match in Podgorica and the attacking midfielder who plays his club football in the United States, is confident that this time he will return home from Montenegro with better memories than the 2-1 defeat three years ago.
 
"Montenegro are a compact team which defends well, but I feel that our attacking game is better than theirs and I trust we’ll prove this in the match too”, Gazdag opined. “I have mixed memories of Podgorica, because I introduced myself to the national team here, but because of the defeat, I still have negative memories of the occasion, I’m confident we’ll be able to win this time though. Based on the world rankings, many people may consider us the favourite, but you can’t win a match with a ranking, you have to show on the pitch who is really the better team. We’re cautious but also confident and we want to win the match”.
 
Miodrag Radulovic, Montenegro’s head coach, said at the home team's press conference that the Hungarian team is considered the group favourite and has, on paper, the better chance in tomorrow's match.
 
“Serbia and Hungary are thought to be the favourites to win the group, the former mainly thanks to their individual qualities, while the latter has proven itself as a team in recent times, but this is normal when a coach can manage a national team for as long as five years”, Radulovic said.
 
The match starting at 18:00 on Saturday will be officiated by Spanish referee Jesús Gil Manzano and his assistants will be compatriots Diego Barbero Sevilla and Angel Nevado Rodriguez, while the fourth official’s duties are due to be performed by José Luis Munuera Montero.