Péter Gulácsi: We'll need to be close to perfect tonight

Péter, what do you remember most about your time on English shores?

I arrived in England as a young player and took a place at my first club in adult football - and not just any old club - but Liverpool FC. There are several initial challenges in adult football and loans to other clubs are where I first gained experience at this level. I had many positive experiences there and I learnt a lot of things which were necessary for the development of my career to where I am now. I've taken the subsequent steps and of course, while I could say if things had gone differently, I could still be there, I'm certainly not complaining at how, thanks to God, my career has turned out so far.

When you're playing in the UEFA European qualifiers or in the Champions League, do you ever feel like that's your stage to show those back in Liverpool what might have been if you'd continued there?

Honestly, it doesn't play a major part of my thinking. I'm glad I can remind people of myself because I've taken good decisions since my time in England too. I needed to go up several levels and I've continually developed myself. That was the route I took and I'm thankful for those experiences but I don't derive extra motivation from it. I'm currently a goalkeeper in a top European league and in the Champions League, which they follow in England a lot too, and I know my name appears in various Liverpool articles and webpages where it's highlighted that I'm a player who didn't really get a chance to enjoy a long career there, but it doesn't feature especially in my thinking nowadays. I just concentrate on my own tasks in Germany and at Leipzig, where I feel good. It's my second season in the Champions League so this level isn't new to me now. The first season was of course new but now this is the second campaign in which I'm competing on four fronts; German league and Cup, the Champions League and the Euro 2020 qualifiers with Hungary - it's a big burden (of playing time) but at the same time a tremendous challenge and a sensational feeling. It's a continual aim with my club to constantly improve and qualify for European competition year on year but thankfully I like the city and I'm one of the fans' favourites, I think. I've got a lot to thank them and the club for and so I try to return this (generosity) on the pitch.

You're probably at around the mid-point of your career now. What have been your biggest achievements so far and what do you most want to achieve in the rest of your time as a professional footballer?

(So far in my career,) I'd say it's a great thing for me to have gained a regular place in a top European team and achieved things over a number of years, somewhere where I'm an influential player and something which not every Hungarian player has managed to do. My aim is to keep this up as I'm 29 now and am right in the middle of my career now, at the start of the period when keepers typically reach their peak, so I've got some really good years in front of me so I'd like to make the best of my remaining career and stay at the top level. In terms of specifics, naturally I want to qualify directly from the qualifying group for the European Championships with Hungary as I regard it as a great thing for us to qualify for a major tournament, the fact that Budapest will host seval matches only serving as extra motivation. At club level, I'd like to win trophies, having gone so close last season in the German Cup final. Currently we're second in the league and still in the Cup and Champions League. We got plenty of targets in front of us so obviously this is what makes a career exciting - continuously facing challenges and realising newer and newer aims because this is what a footballer lives for.  After I've finished I'd like to be able to look back and say I've had one of the best careers abroad of any Hungarian footballer.

Looking at Hungary's crucial match with Wales tonight, what are going to be the key factors in deciding which team prevails on the night and clinches a UEFA Euro 2020 spot?

Firstly, we need to play with bravery and keep the ball so we can control the match to some extent. Wales have some very quick players but are physically well-built too, so we need to try to control as much of the game as possible by keeping the ball and not just defending. Obviously a win will mean qualification so I think it'll be an interesting match as both teams will be going for victory. I'm sure we can secure our second away win of the qualifying campaign because this is a great opportunity and even though we're not necessarily the favourites, we showed in the match against them in Budapest that with courage, a disciplined defence and a concentrated style of play, we can beat them. I'm not saying we need to play the perfect match, but it'll need to be close to that if we are to win away in Cardiff.

Hungary take on Wales in the Cardiff City stadium in the final UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier for both sides at 20:45 CET. The match will be broadcast live on the M4 Sport television channel in Hungary.