Hard Ending to Hungary’s Nations League Clash with Türkiye

Hungary’s national football team lost 3-0 to visiting Türkiye at Puskás Arena on Sunday. The Turkish team won their Nations League qualifying match 6-1 on aggregate.

The Hungarian national team played the better and more dangerous game for over half an hour, but the visitors then settled the back-and-forth battle within three minutes, with Hakan Calhanoglu scoring from a penalty and Arda Güler also finding the net for Dénes Dibusz. Eventually, Abdülkerim Bardakci set the final score.

Marco Rossi’s side suffered another defeat in front of their home crowd after 13 unbeaten home meetings. Hungary will next host Sweden in a friendly match on June 6.

With Portugal winning their Nations League match yesterday, Hungary will face them in the autumn World Cup qualifiers along with Ireland and Armenia. The top of the quartet will qualify for next summer’s 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, while the second will fight for the remaining places in the knockout stages.

We created a lot of chances in both games and we could take almost none. We definitely need to improve on that. Of course there was a bit of bad luck, but after a 3-1 and a 3-0 defeat you cannot just talk about bad luck,”

team manager Rossi told MTI, reported M4 Sport. “But we also have to work on our psychology because, just like at home now and in Istanbul, we conceded two goals in three or four minutes. That means we break down when we score a goal. I cannot remember if that happened before. We must not take the defeat as a defeat for the army, after all, we still had sixty minutes to play. We need to come together and discuss the reasons for this,” he added.

“It is my fault that we slipped back into League B, but we did everything we could and tried our best to make sure that did not happen. Some circumstances went against us, in Istanbul the score was 1-1 and I had to bring two of my best players off the pitch. Always keep in mind the level of the opponent; this Turkish national team and its coach are directly below the highest level,” Mr. Rossi emphasized.

Team captain Dominik Szoboszlai spoke after the match about how the team had several chances in the first half that, if they had gone in, could have given them a 3-0 lead at the break. “But I think you have to make the luck. We have done it in the last few years, we have made it happen, it has come our way. Now we need to get a bit of a grip on ourselves as a company, everyone, including myself, and come up with an ‘anything’ for the summer that will take us forward and help us in the World Cup qualifiers,” emphasized the Liverpool player, stressing the need for footballers who want to play in the World Cup after 40 years.

Those who wish we were not at the World Cup will not be happy either. Those who cannot cheer when we are losing should not cheer when we are winning,”

he added.

Via MTI, M4 Sport, Featured photo via MTI/Purger Tamás