Zoltán Gera names his first Under-21 men's squad

As co-hosts of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Slovenia, Hungary’s Under-21s aren’t participating in the qualification round, but have plenty of friendlies lined up this autumn, beginning with Denmark in early September. Newly-appointed head coach Zoltán Gera has invited 28 players to a two-day training camp next Monday and Tuesday as preparations for the Under-21 Euro 2021 begin.

“I felt it important that we get-together for a few days ahead of our first match as we’re quite a bit behind our rivals in terms of preparation as they already started working together last November”, Gera told mlsz.hu. “We only have two days together but during that time we’ll endeavour to get to know all of the squad members as best we can and obviously they will become acquainted with how we envisage our work together, as well as the playing style we’ll be looking to implement in the coming period. We couldn’t invite the bulk of our players who are based abroad to this meeting, but we’ll be getting a more detailed picture of more than a half of the extended squad before our autumn fixtures begin, which will be of great help to us”, he concluded.

The squad includes many players who have been involved with the Under-21 squad over the past couple of years – Patrik Demjén, Bence Tóth, Bence Bíró and Norbert Kundrák – as well as six born in the year 2000.

Gera’s Under-21 team will play six friendly matches this autumn, starting on 6 September against Denmark in Aalborg and then four days later against Norway at the Pancho Aréna in Felcsút. Another two matches follow in October – against Croatia in Zalaegerszeg on the 11th, and an away match against fellow U21 Euro hosts Slovenia on the 15th. Northern Ireland away is next on 14 November whilst the final fixture before the end of the year will be a home match against Austria on 18 November.

The squad:

Goalkeepers:

Patrik Demjén (Zalaegerszeg), Ádám Varga (Soroksár), Balázs Bese (MTK), Illés Zöldesi (Kisvárda)

Defenders:

Bendegúz Bolla (Zalaegerszeg), Krisztián Kovács (Győri ETO), Zsombor Takács (Soroksár), Zoltán Szilágyi (Vasas), Zsombor Nagy (MTK), Bence Tóth (Vasas), Bence Gergényi (ZTE), László Deutsch (Csákvár), András Szalai (Paks)

Midfielders:

András Csonka (Soroksár), Kristóf Hinora (Vasas), Milán Kovács (Vasas), Mátyás Tajti (Diósgyőr), Bence Banó-Szabó (Honvéd), Bence Szabó (Diósgyőr), Zoltán Daróczi (Vasas) Bence Kiss (Haladás)

Forwards:

Kornél Csernik (Soroksár), Tamás Kiss (Puskás Akadémia), Márk Kovácsréti (Kisvárda), Regö Szánthó (Győri ETO), Norbert Kundrák (Soroksár), Bence Bíró (Vitoria Guimaraes), Filip Dragóner (Mezőkövesd).