Men's national team start preparations for June double header

Those still to arrive were still in action for their clubs at the weekend and include Ádám Martin, Botond Balogh, Dániel Gazdag, Willi Orbán, Attila Szalai and Dominik Szoboszlai. They will join the squad on 12th June. At that point, the entire squad will take up temporary residence at Telki, but until then, squad members only have training in the mornings, so they are able to spend evenings at home.

During Monday's first training session, the players practised coordinated passing moves and tactical elements, before a game against each other concluded proceedings. Before the session, regular squad member Endre Botka, newcomer Gábor Szalai and János Ferenczi, who made his international debut against Montenegro, spoke to waiting journalists:

"A strong Montenegrin national team awaits us in the first match" admitted Ferenczi. "I've already experienced this in my first match for Hungary in (Montenegro's capital city) Podgorica, but our usual harmony and team unity can help us reach our goals in these two European qualifiers.

In the days ahead, I'll prepare as if I'd be in the starting team for the first match, even if this is not necessarily likely. In any case, I'd be happy if I'd manage to play some minutes for the national team again," Ferenczi explained.

On his first day with the national team, Kecskemét's Gábor Szalai spoke to the press for the first time in such circumstances, having not been a national-team member at any age group in the past. The defender, whose club finished as OTP Bank Liga runners-up this season, is confident that his first call-up won't be the last and that he'll be able to represent Hungary many times in the future.

"I felt a little trepidation when I arrived in Telki, but I knew I'd be welcomed and this has certainly been true so far. My goal is to be a member of the national team in the long term, so for this reason I'll be doing my very best in the two weeks ahead", the defender said.

Last week, Endre Botka, who won the Hungarian championship with Ferencváros again this season, completed the short holiday he took following the end of the OTP Bank Liga season, and is now focusing on the two upcoming international matches this month. "Every match is crucial, not only away against Montenegro, but also at home against Lithuania. The away fixture may be the more difficult one, but every match in this group is of special importance", the Fradi defender affirmed.

The national-team schedule will continue on Tuesday morning with another training session which, due to a clean bill of health across the squad, should include every player present.