Hungary officially announce their final 26-man squad ahead of Euro 2024 this summer, but who has made the cut and which star names have been left out?
Hungary have officially confirmed their final 26-man squad ahead of competing at Euro 2024 this summer.
UEFA confirmed last month that squad sizes have been increased from 23 to 26 players for this year’s eagerly-anticipated tournament held in Germany, and all squads must include at least three goalkeepers.
Marco Rossi is preparing to lead Hungary into their third successive European Championships and his team have been drawn in Group A alongside Euro 2024 hosts Germany, Switzerland and Scotland.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Hungary’s 26-man squad for Euro 2024, who has been selected and who are the unfortunate players to miss out.
Which Hungary stars have been selected?
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Rossi has opted to name a relatively experience squad, with only six players having earned fewer than 10 international caps. Justifying his selection, Rossi said: “Whilst compiling the squad, we considered a range of aspects as well as player performance, including who was part of our journey in 2023 to qualify for this European Championship.
“In addition, we didn’t see an outstanding performance from any player not yet considered, so the call-up of a new squad member wasn’t justified for this reason either.”
However, Rossi has made the decision to select one-cap goalkeeper Peter Szappanos, adding: “I would like to especially mention our third goalkeeper: Peter Szappanos was with us all year last year, and in addition to his on-pitch performance, he was a key person in the group and played a huge role in creating team unity, which is why I decided to choose him.”
Along with Denes Dibusz, Szappanos will provide goalkeeping cover for first-choice shot-stopper Peter Gulacsi, who managed to win back the No.1 jersey at RB Leipzig during the second half of the 2023-24 campaign after a spell out of the side following a lengthy injury layoff.
Gulacsi, is one of seven Hungarian players in the 26-man squad over the age of 30 and one of five players who has earned over 50 international caps along with experienced defensive duo Adam Lang and Attila Fiola.
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Star centre-back Willi Orban will also be heading to Euro 2024, as will Parma‘s Botond Balogh, who after two years away from the international set-up made his return at the end of last year before earning his fourth cap earlier this month.
One of the standout names in Hungary’s squad is their captain and Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who was ruled out of 2020 through injury but is fit and raring to go to represent his country at Euro 2024.
Szoboszlai, who contributed with four goals and four assists in eight qualification matches, has been listed as one of seven attackers in Rossi’s final squad along with Freiburg‘s Roland Sallai and Ulsan Hyundai‘s Martin Adam.
Adam Nagy is the most-capped member of Hungary’s squad having made a total of 80 appearances, and he is joined in the midfield ranks by the likes of Andras Schafer, Laszlo Kleinheisler, Callum Styles and Milos Kerkez, who impressed at left-back for Bournemouth last season but plays in an advanced left-sided role for the national team.
Which Hungary stars will miss Euro 2024?
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There are not too many surprise omissions from Hungary’s final squad, although many would argue that Hertha Berlin midfielder Palko Dardai was unfortunate not to make the cut.
The 25-year-old chipped in with seven goals and four assists in 23 games for the German second-tier side last season, but he has not represented Hungary since making his debut back in November 2022.
Goalkeeper Balazs Toth and winger Zalan Vancsa also impressed at club level with Fehervar and Lommel respectively, but they ultimately did not do enough to force their way into Rossi’s senior set-up.
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What are Hungary’s pre-tournament preparations?
Hungary’s 26-man squad linked up for the first time at the national team training centre in Telki at the end of May, before Rossi’s side suffered a 2-1 friendly defeat away against the Republic of Ireland on June 4.
The Magyars will conclude their preparations with a warm-up clash against Israel at Nagyerdei Stadion before travelling to their Euro 2024 base camp in the German town of Weiler im Allgau.
Hungary will face Switzerland in their opening Group A fixture of Euro 2024 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Koln on June 15, before taking on Germany on June 19 and then Scotland on June 23.
Hungary’s 26-man squad for Euro 2024:
Goalkeepers: Denes Dibusz (Ferencvaros), Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig), Peter Szappanos (Paks)
Defenders: Botond Balogh (Parma), Endre Botka (Ferencvaros), Marton Dardai (Hertha Berlin), Attila Fiola (Fehervar), Adam Lang (Omonia), Willi Orban (RB Leipzig), Attila Szalai (Freiburg)
Midfielders: Bendeguz Bolla (Servette), Mihaly Kata (MTK), Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), Laszlo Kleinheisler (Hajduk Split), Adam Nagy (Spezia), Zsolt Nagy (Puskas Akademia), Loic Nego (Le Havre), Andras Schafer (Union Berlin), Callum Styles (Sunderland)
Attackers: Martin Adam (Ulsan Hyundai), Kevin Csoboth (Ujpest), Daniel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union), Krisztofer Horvath (Kecskemet), Roland Sallai (Freiburg), Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool), Barnabas Varga (Ferencvaros)