Kleinheisler and Gyurcsó recalled to men's national squad

The Hungarian men's national team performed above expectations in its away matches in October, defeating Bulgaria 3-1 and Serbia 1-0 before battling to a goalless draw in Russia. Marco Rossi's squad therefore lies just a single victory from qualification to next year's European Championship, which will jointly be hosted in Budapest, Iceland providing the last obstacle to progresison when they visit the Puskás Aréna 12th November.

That European Championship qualifier will be followed swiftly by two Nations League clashes at home, Serbia on 15th November and Turkey a further three days later, and thanks to good results earned so far - we are second in the group with seven points after four matches - the chance of winning the group remains alive.

“We have three matches ahead of us which will have a huge impact on the future of the national team,” Marco Rossi said after the squad announcement. "The most important thing is, of course, the first match against Iceland, because if we win it, we will participate in next year's European Championship, which will also be jointly-hosted by Budapest. At the same time, the two Nations League matches are also very important, because our results in this group will determine at what level we play in the next camapign and with whom we can be drawn. Our goal, of course, is to win all three matches, but the most important thing is for the team to give their all and compete against every rival, including opponents such as Iceland who in the A League in the Nations League. In the September and October matches, we had a positive experience in terms of play and attitude, which is encouraging ahead of these three fixtures in November. I believe that we can only achieve good results with the right attitude".

Rossi had no reason to change the October squad so will largely count on the same group of footballers as a month ago. At the same time, two of our national-team players now playing for clubs in Croatia, László Kleinheisler and Ádám Gyurcsó, will return to the squad after relatively long absences.

"We have a squad of 27 players because again we'll play three matches in six days and we know exactly how much of a strain this is from our experience in October. When selecting the squad, our goal was to give those who proved themselves in October another opportunity, as they all deserve this. Where we needed extra players, we also opted for familiar faces, as it's important not to experiment with new players at this point, given we have big aims and difficult tasks. Those players who are available again after illness or injury are back in the squad, and Kleinheisler and Gyurcsó will be with us again," Rossi added.

On the subject of Iceland, Hungary's Italian coach admitted we'll be competing with a physically very strong team which leaves very little room for its opponent to attack, but at the other end they are excellent in attack and can make the most of any space their opponent allows. Gylfi Sigurðsson is a key man for the team, as he's able to perform well in several positions and shoots powerfully with either foot. Alfreð Finnbogason and Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson are also extremely dangerous players on the wings so it is crucial that no space is left unattended in front of them.