Rossi: I'm proud of our players

"It would have been nice if we could have produced one more miracle, thereby presenting the retiring Ádám Szalai with another wonderful memory", Hungary's coach said at the post-match press conference.

"This farewell match will still be memorable for him; he received a huge ovation at the end of the match when everyone stood up and paid tribute to his career", Rossi admitted. "What he experienced tonight, he will carry with him for the rest of his life and so will we. Ádám Szalai was the real leader of this national team, and I am afraid that many people will only understand how important he was to the team when he is no longer in the team. The role of leader cannot be bought; either someone has it, or they don't, or their peers recognise them as a leader, or they don't.

We wanted to produce a miracle, but when you play against a team of such quality, you have to play the match almost flawlessly and hope that the opponent will make mistakes and that luck is on your side. We made a mistake or two tonight and luck wasn't on our side either. Donnarumma (Italy's goalkeeper) was in tremendous form; it's no coincidence he's considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world. In the first half, our interpretation of the game was poor and it was very difficult to communicate from the bench to the other side of the pitch, so the information did not reach the players. At the same time, I would like to point out that we cannot afford to blame those responsible; we are a team, even when we make a mistake, and only the coach can be held responsible. I am proud of the players because they fought hard again, especially in the second half, when we put Italy under heavy pressure several times. Congratulations to the players for this Nations League campaign, because they gave everything they had when they took to the pitch. The strongest team beat us to progress, so I hope Italy go on to win the tournament after this. I've seen many fans and many full stadia, but the atmosphere that the Hungarian crowd is able to create is something very special; unique in the world", Rossi explained.

Rossi also revealed that after Ádám Szalai, he will also give another great player of the past decade and a half, Balázs Dzsudzsák, the opportunity to say goodbye to the national team on the pitch against Greece in November.