Hungary Announces March Squad: Key Players Included
- Goalkeepers: Péter Szappanos (Puskás Akadémia FC), Balázs Tóth (Blackburn Rovers), Áron Yaakobishvili (FC Andorra)
- Defenders: Botond Balogh (Kocaelispor), Bendegúz Bolla (Rapid Wien), Márk Csinger (ETO FC), Márton Dárdai (Hertha BSC), Milos Kerkez (FC Liverpool), Loic Nego (Le Havre AC), Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig), Attila Osváth (Ferencvárosi TC), Kornél Szűcs (FK Vojvodina)
- Midfielders: Péter Baráth (SK Sigma Olomouc), András Schäfer (Union Berlin), Callum Styles (West Bromwich Albion), Dominik Szoboszlai (FC Liverpool), Tamás Szűcs (Debreceni VSC), Alex Tóth (Bournemouth), Milán Vitális (ETO FC)
- Forwards: Donát Bárány (Debreceni VSC), Damir Redzic (RB Salzburg), Dániel Lukács (Puskás Akadémia FC), Roland Sallai (Galatasaray), Szabolcs Schön (ETO FC), Barnabás Varga (AEK)
The Hungarian national team will return to action after a several-month hiatus. The painful finish to last fall’s World Cup qualifying campaign, a heartbreaking loss to Ireland, still stings for many fans, as it meant Hungary would not participate in the March playoff matches. This result confirmed that Hungary’s World Cup drought will extend beyond four decades, having last appeared in the tournament at the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
Before the summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, Marco Rossi’s squad has four friendly matches scheduled. In March, they will face Slovenia and Greece, although Finland will visit Hungary in June, and the team will travel to Kazakhstan in early September.
Rossi has announced his roster for the first of these matches, including three newcomers: Áron Yaakobishvili, currently on loan at Andorra but a Barcelona player, ETO FC’s Márk Csinger, and Tamás Szűcs of Debrecen.
Following the match against Kazakhstan, the 2026–2027 Nations League will kick off in late September. After a draw in February, Hungary will compete in Group B against Ukraine, Northern Ireland, and Georgia.
What About Dibusz Dénes?
During Tuesday’s squad announcement, Rossi addressed the first question from reporters regarding Ferencváros goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz: why wasn’t he included in the team?
Dénes has played a game or two for Fradi, but he isn’t yet in top form. He didn’t even start in their most important match of the season against Braga. The conditions aren’t right for him to be included in the squad yet. Balázs Tóth has returned and is regularly playing at Blackburn, and now is the right time to too take a look at Áron Yaakobishvili, even though he hasn’t been playing much at Andorra recently,” the coach explained.
The squad includes two players from ETO, Márk Csinger and Miljan Krpic. Why wasn’t the latter included, despite his strong performances?
Krpic is not eligible to play for the national team, as he does not meet FIFA’s requirements. Otherwise, we would have invited him. As far as I understand, Krpic’s grandmother was born in the territory of old Greater Hungary, but for some reason his pedigree is not sufficient,” Rossi stated.
Selection Principles Remain Consistent
A fresh two-year cycle is beginning – will there be any changes to the selection principles?
“No, not really. There’s nothing to change. The team performed well in many respects during World Cup qualifying, but we need to improve in several areas, especially in defense, particularly when defending deep. The roster requirements will remain the same. The most important thing is international experience, as well as physical attributes. We continue to invite players from top leagues, but We find only five or six of them. We need to select candidates who have the physical characteristics to compete at the international level. Those coming from the Hungarian league need to be evaluated to see if they can handle the international level.”
Szoboszlai recently stated that the players would go to any lengths for Rossi. How did the coach respond?
Of course, it felt good. I’ve always had a loyal and faithful relationship with Dominik, as I do with the other core players. They always show how proud they are to play for the national team. What Dominik said was great, and I’m sure the others would do anything for their coach. The last match against Ireland didn’t go as planned in the final minute, but disappointments are part of life. They provide experience to help us achieve our goals. We need to perform well in the friendly matches, and then comes the Nations League.”
Lack of Time is the Biggest Concern
Index asked Rossi if these brief gain-togethers are sufficient to practice tactical elements, especially set-piece tactics.
“Unfortunately, the lack of time is every national team’s curse, its biggest problem. We always need a few days to recover, acclimatize, and then the real perform can begin. Focusing on practicing the defense is key for me. We need to defend in an organized and effective manner, that’s the foundation of everything.”
What does the coach expect from Márk Csinger and Tamás Szűcs, as well as the returning Szabolcs Schön?
five years have passed since the match against Portugal, when Szabolcs scored a goal that was unfortunately disallowed. No one can predict whether the agent and the player’s decisions are correct. Szabolcs has now returned to Győr, and he’s playing at a level that warranted an invitation. Previously, Dallas and the English third division didn’t provide him with the right platform.
The Ireland Match Still Haunts the Coach
Rossi brought up the final minute of the World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, and it seems he can’t shake the feeling.
“The coach always makes substitutions, but you can’t foresee whether they’re good or not. Rarely do my substitutions work out… (Rossi smiled) Everyone blames me for the substitutions in extra time against Ireland. I watch hundreds of matches on TV since becoming the national team coach, and my colleagues, Guardiola, Spalletti, and Arteta also produce substitutions in extra time. I wanted to break the opponent’s momentum, and aggressiveness. Of course, the final result is what matters. But back to Schön. When he decided to play in Dallas, it seemed like a good move. Then he went from Vidi to the English third division, the Championship is the sixth strongest league in Europe, but the third division is quite weak. That’s why he fell off the national team’s radar. But he’s back in Győr, Szabolcs’ physical abilities are noteworthy, so we invited him. Szűcs Tamás and Csinger Márk are also important players for their clubs, their performances are at a good level, and they play consistently. Csinger doesn’t usually make mistakes, Szűcs is a technically gifted footballer, but needs to develop tactically. Vitális has also improved a lot since I first invited him, and is now one of the key players in the Hungarian NB I.”
Bendegúz Kovács, the young player at Alkmaar, is scoring goals for the reserve team. Was his inclusion in the squad considered?
Of course, we’re following him, we’ve spoken to his coaches, and we know his qualities. But our condition is that he plays in the first team. If he were playing in place of Troy Parrott at Alkmaar, that would be different… But for now, he’s still playing in the U21s. Let’s not hype up these players too much. Give them some time. When he scores goals in the big Alkmaar team.
What about Roland Sallai? He’s been converted into a right-back at Galatasaray, just like Szoboszlai at Liverpool… And what does he think of Barnabás Varga’s excellent form at AEK Athens?
“Barni’s excellent form is very important, but so is everyone else’s. Of course, Barni is our only center forward, and he’s an international-level player. I’ve already said that Loic Nego and Bendegúz Bolla are available at right-back, but Dominik can play there too. And Roli, but none of them are natural right-backs, they’re just adapting to the coach’s wishes. Roli is a right-sided runner, a winger, and that’s where he remains with me. But he can also play as a false nine. He has many years left in the national team in his preferred position.”
The squad will meet in Telki next Monday.
Hungary’s 2026 Schedule
Friendly Matches:
- March 28, Saturday: Hungary–Slovenia 6:00 PM
- March 31, Tuesday: Hungary–Greece 7:00 PM
- June 6, Saturday: Hungary–Finland 7:45 PM
- September 6, Sunday: Kazakhstan–Hungary 2:00 PM
Nations League 2026–2027, Group Stage, Division B:
- September 25, Friday: Hungary–Ukraine 8:45 PM
- September 28, Monday: Northern Ireland–Hungary 8:45 PM
- October 2, Friday: Hungary–Georgia 8:45 PM
- October 5, Monday: Ukraine–Hungary 8:45 PM
- November 14, Saturday: Georgia–Hungary 6:00 PM
- November 17, Tuesday: Hungary–Northern Ireland 8:45 PM
(Cover image: Marco Rossi in Brussels on February 12, 2026. Photo: Harry Murphy – UEFA / UEFA / Getty Images)
Follow Index on Facebook too!
