On the occasion of Thursday's Nations League match against Türkiye, Marco Rossi gave an exclusive interview to a Turkish newspaper.Continue reading
The Hungarian national football team lost 3-1 to Türkiye in their 1,000th match in the first leg of the Nations League qualifying round in Istanbul on Thursday, reports Nemzeti Sport.
The home side, who started strongly, took an early lead through Orkun Kökcü and then levelled the scores before András Schäfer equalised midway through the first half. In the second half, the two sides continued to play at a high level, with the home side slowly gaining the upper hand and Kerem Aktürkoglu and Irfan Can Kahveci scoring in the second half to secure victory.
The Hungarians, who also welcomed a newcomer in Attila Osváth, fell to the Turks again after five unbeaten matches. The return leg will be played on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. at the Puskás Arena, with the winner of the match going through to the top flight Division A in autumn 2026.
Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
“We have to wait for the Turks at home from a two-goal deficit; there was a phase of the game when we could keep up with them, we had chances, one went in, but several were missed. We cannot make such basic individual and team mistakes. They won the matches consistently, they won seventy minutes and we won maybe twenty. If we want to achieve results at this level, we have to go on the pitch in a completely different way,” Dominik Szoboszlai assessed to M4 Sport after the match.
The captain of the Hungarian national team said about the return leg:
I hope that we will be waiting for them in the Puskás Arena in a way that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
We need every single player to believe that we can do it. If it happens that the result does not go the way we wanted but we fought, I will be the first to say it is OK and congratulations.”
Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Team manager Marco Rossi said to M4 Sport that his team did not deserve to lose by two goals. “We had more chances but we did not convert them. The tactical plan did not work for ten minutes, then we got two goals. Against an opponent of this caliber, we should not allow such a lapse of concentration. We came out worse from every two-goal situation (…)
So it will be very difficult at home, but as long as I am on the bench, we will not give up.
We will give everything we can to get back into the match. As long as I am breathing, I will fight,” he concluded.
Via Nemzeti Sport, M4 Sport, Featured photo via MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt