Three new names in Hungary squad for Nations League warm-ups

The spine of the national squad is again the well-known players, but a versatile player at home in several positions, Hungarian league football's potential next top scorer and a promising youngster also appear in the latest selection. Some of the more familiar names are not regular starters with their club teams at the moment, but wholesale changes to the squad are deemed not to be in the best interests of the national team.

"With the current international situation in mind, I would like to start by expressing, in my own name and in the name of the Hungarian Football Federation, that we stand for peace and we hope that there will be lasting peace as soon as possible. In this period, when some players aren't playing regularly for their clubs but physically everyone is at the right level, they are also expected to be at the right level while with the national team," Marco Rossi told mlsz.hu. "Hopefully they will regain their self-confidence, as there is no problem with their ability and they have already proven this. It is important that we continue on the same path on which we started long ago and that they already know very well. It would make no sense to start experimenting with 7-8 new players, and to be honest, I don't even see so many players with whom we could upset the usual squad".

The Hungarian national squad for the matches against Serbia and Northern Ireland:

Goalkeepers:
Dénes Dibusz (Ferencvárosi TC)
Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig)
Péter Szappanos (Budapest Honvéd FC)

Defenders:
Bendegúz Bolla (Grasshopper Club Zürich)
Endre Botka (Ferencvárosi TC)
Attila Fiola (MOL Fehérvár FC)
Ákos Kecskés (Nizhny Novgorod)
Ádám Lang (Omonia Nicosia)
Zsolt Nagy (Puskás Akadémia FC)
Loic Nego (MOL Fehérvár FC)
Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig)
Attila Szalai (Fenerbahçe FK)

Midfielders:
Péter Baráth (DVSC)
Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union)
Ádám Nagy (AC Pisa)
András Schäfer (FC Union Berlin)
Callum Styles (Barnsley FC)
Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig)
Bálint Vécsei (Ferencvárosi TC)

Forwards:
Ádám Martin (Paks FC)
Roland Sallai (SC Freiburg)
Szabolcs Schön (FC Dallas)
Ádám Szalai (FC Basel)
Kevin Varga (BSC Young Boys).

Rossi has previously said that the performances of the potential debutants had been monitored for a long time by his backroom staff. According to Hunary's head coach, Ádám Martin is very motivated to play for the national team and his league achievements speak for themselves, while one of Styles Callum’s greatest strengths is his ability to excel in several positions.

"We've been monitoring them for a long time and at last, all obstacles were removed from Callum's call-up", Rossi continued. "He's a very young player who has been able to perform well in several positions despite his age. We will see in which role he will be most useful for the national team. There’s no question about Ádám Martin having a fantastic season; the best of his career. He’s a classic number 9; physically very strong, very good inside the penalty area, and we'll soon see if he can fit into our game, since he plays in a different style at his club, but I think he can be a useful member of the national squad. The fact that he was very motivated is not a question either, as he's accepted the advice we have given him, and that obviously means the national team means a lot to him".

The men's full national team will take on Serbia, who've successfully qualified for the World Cup later this year, at the Puskás Arena on 24th March, before travelling to face hosts Northern Ireland five days later.

"Both are difficult and very physical opponents", Rossi emphasised. "Serbia are of a high technical and tactical standard, and beat Portugal to World Cup qualification from their group. I would say we know them from the Nations League in 2020, but since then their game has evolved a lot in several ways. Much has been developed in small detail, but together, these details have resulted in a very big step forward. Dragan Stojkovic was a great player and now he is also fantastic as a coach. In summary, it will be very difficult against them, but I am confident that we will be able to play two very good matches in March. Northern Ireland, like us, play with three central defenders, and are a very physical team. This is especially true for their central defenders, but also for their wider players. Speed and physicality are important elements of their game and they made the lives of the Italian national team very difficult in World Cup qualifying recently, so it will be very difficult against them too, especially given we'll be playing away".

Hungary will play four matches in the top division of the Nations League within 14 days in June, so these March matches against two very strong national teams will be of great use to the players and coaching staff.