U17 World Cup: Gyula Rákosi: Put everything into it with Hungarian heart!

This Saturday evening, the Hungary Under-17 national team will represent the nation at a FIFA World Cup, the third such appearance at either U17 or U20 level in the last 10 years after a complete absence on the world stage stretching back to 1997. Former Ferencváros and Hungary midfielder Gyula Rákosi is perhaps uniquely placed to give his opinion of the challenges Sándor Preisinger's squad will face, having both played in full World Cups for Hungary in the Sixties before then coaching Hungary at two Under-20 editions in the late 1970s before the Under-17 version was established in 1985.

"We qualified twice - once to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Tunisia (in 1977) and then to the same tournament in Japan two years later", Rákosi remembered. "Those players were 2-3 years older than this current group (who will play in Brazil). It's always a fantastic experience to go to any World Cup or Olympic Games or similar. The youngsters have to throw themselves into it like we threw ourselves in".

Both those U20 World Cups saw Hungary drawn in very tough groups, Uruguay twice providing an insurmountable obstacle, while in Tunis in 1977, Honduras pipped Hungary to a place in the knockout stages after goals from Kerekes and Nagy had seen off Morocco in the second group fixture.

In Japan in 1979, Rákosi's charges took a ninth-minute lead in their opening fixture against the Soviet Union courtesy of Újpest Dózsa's future full international József Kardos, but two-time Russian champion and former Ukrainian player of the year Oleg Taran scored twice as Hungary's opponents recovered to overwhelm them 5-1. A two-nil reverse against a very proficient Uruguay in their next fixture ended Hungary's hopes of progression but a 2-0 victory against Guinea in their final match meant the campaign ended on a positive note.

"We were of course delighted to have those opportunities and we knew we had a mid-level team at that time, so our aim was to progress from the group if possible or, if not, to finish having put in respectable performances. In Japan, we were up against Uruguay and the Soviet Union so obviously we knew we might not get out of that group. We were a good little team but in that age group at that tournament, we weren't quite able to be as successful as we'd hoped we would be. All the countries there really played together for each other and the quality was largely similar across the board".

The 41-times capped Hungary winger, who played in both the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the following edition in England, is also clear that everyone in the U17 squad playing in Brazil this month will know their tasks and should be looking forward to the contests ahead of them.

"I don't feel I should send any advice to Sándor Preisinger or his team because they will know what they need to do. They'll go out there and try to stay in the games at all times, perform well and be successful. There's no bigger message needed than that - they need to put everything into it with Hungarian heart!".

Hungary start their FIFA Under-17 World Cup campaign on Saturday 26th October against five-time U17 world champions Nigeria in Goiana. THe match will be broadcast live on m4 Sport TV.