Makeshift Under-18 team succumbs to Czech Republic

Hungary’s Under-18s qualified for this autumn’s Under-17 World Cup in Brazil by finishing fifth in the European Under-17 Championships in Ireland in May. As part of their preparations for the upcoming tournament in South America, they are participating in a mini-tournament in the Czech Republic named after legendary Czech coach Václav Ježek. Their opening matchday opponents in a rain-soaked Roudnice nad Labem were hosts Czech Republic.

Five players who weren’t part of the Euros in Ireland made the starting XI, Patrick Iyinbor, Zétény Hosszú, Dominik Kovács, Balázs Farkas and Roland Hajdú all getting the nod, whilst Sámuel Major was the only player to start who had been part of the team in the knockout stages in Ireland.

The Czech Republic raced into a second-minute lead after Hungary failed to clear their lines following a corner, Tomás Hájek firing low into the corner of the net. Hungary levelled seven minutes later as a Szabolcs Szalay free kick was deflected past Czech goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček and although the Czechs created the bulk of the opportunities, the scores were level until the 40th minute when Filip Šilhart restored the Czechs’ lead.

The Czechs continued to create chances in the second half, Václav Sejk adding a third goal in the 57th minute, Šilhart making it four in the 65th, and then Adam Toula rounding off the scoring in the 73rd as Hungary fell to a 5-1 defeat.

“We couldn’t match the Czech’s physically; they came out on top in 90% of the 50-50 balls, and in football that generally leads to defeat. You need to learn from defeats like this one, and I’ve learned a lot from the match. We’ll continue our preparations for the World Cup based on the experience gained”, head coach Sándor Preisinger said after the match.

Hungary’s next match is on Wednesday at 17:00 against Latvia.

Czech Republic 5-1 Hungary (HT: 2-1)
Goalscorers: CZE: Hájek, (2’), Šilhart (40’, 65’), Sejk (57’), Toula (73’); HUN: Szalay (9’);

Hungary (surnames first): Megyeri Gábor - Orosz Donát, Dávid Zoltán (Szabó Alex, 66.), Iyinbor Patrick, Hosszú Zétény - Kovács Dominik, Major Sámuel, Molnár Rajmund (László Dávid, 66.) - Szalay Szabolcs (Buna Gábor, 66.), Farkas Balázs (Németh András, 66.), Hajdú Roland.