Rossi: We'd like to be major performers at this Euro

Friday morning saw the squad hurry to the training ground near their Weiler headquarters already for one last training session there before their European Championship opener against Switzerland on Saturday. This time, two teams of players practiced together while Loic Nego, Callum Styles and Botond Balogh did more fitness work. Lunch followed the near one-hour training session before the delegation flew by plane to Cologne and finally arrived in the underground garage of Cologne's stadium shortly after 6pm CET. 

The players walked onto the pitch to familiarise themselves with the match venue The brief visit to the stadium was extended by the aforementioned press conference featuring Rossi, Bendegúz Bolla and Loic Nego with a press conference.

"We could sit here for a long time listing Switzerland's strengths: they have a great team, they are very strong in both defence and attack. There are a lot of great footballers in their squad; Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez give stability to the team at the back and they have quick, technical footballers up front," Rossi opined. "However, we're not paying attention to their players individually, but to the whole team, and we also have to be united as a team in all aspects of the game. I feel the players are becoming more and more confident thanks to the hard work they've done, so everyone believes in the team, including me. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but we didn't make it here by chance, but because we earned it on the pitch. We want to be a main performer at the European Championship and bring joy to the fans. Of course, everyone feels pressure, because we want to meet our own and the fans' expectations. A European Championship, which is watched all over the world, is quite different from a warm-up match, and everyone feels this first-hand. The pressure is inevitable, but you have to live with it and you have to keep your concentration, you have to maintain your focus and you have to play football together - when you're on the pitch, you have to give it your all."

Meanwhile, Bendegúz Bolla emphasised that the national team has every reason to look forward to the tournament full of confidence: "It was important that we performed well and gained confidence in the last warm-up match, which was much needed before the start. Now everyone is focusing on the match against Switzerland, I feel there's no reason to worry, because we're perfectly prepared for the European Championship," said the wide player who has been playing in Switzerland in recent years.

Loic Nego won't play in Saturday's match due to a minor injury, but he'll play an important role later on in the tournament. In response to a journalist's question, the French-born winger said he'd made a very good decision when he became a Hungarian citizen and he's happy that he has been able to play for Hungary for a number of years. "Progressing from the group is our minimum aim, but that's the case with every national team that has qualified for the European Championship. It's a very hard task to reach the knockout stages, but we believe we can achieve it, and I feel that if we fight with unity and togetherness on the pitch, we can go as far as we want to in the European Championship," said Nego. 

The Switzerland squad followed Hungary's in checking out the pitch before head coach Murat Yakin and team captain Granit Xhaka took part in the team's press event. 

"The Hungarian national team has a lot of virtues, especially in terms being together as a team," Yakin told those in attendance. "Their results are remarkable, they remained undefeated in the qualifying campaign and since then, they've only been beaten once. It'll be an open battle and I expect a high-quality game." 

Yakin also revealed that Denis Zakaria and Steven Zuber won't play against Hungary due to minor injuries.