Marco Rossi was at least spared a strenuous bike ride around Lake Balaton. Hungary’s national coach had announced this in the event of a place in the round of 16 at the European Football Championship. “That’s 200 kilometers. I can’t even manage two hours without pain in my calf,” said the coach in an interview on the DFB website. The early exit from the tournament in the summer still bothers the coach of the German long-time opponents ahead of the renewed duel at the start of the Nations League on Saturday (8.45 p.m./ZDF) in Düsseldorf. “There was also some bad luck,” he recalled the failure.
The Italian, who has now been naturalized in Hungary, can also get information about Lake Balaton from the Dardai family. Palko and Marton Dardai, both under contract with second division club Hertha BSC. And of course their father Pal, who is now a big fan of his sons and the Hungarian national team, are experts when it comes to the scenic beauty of their homeland. Marton Dardai (22) has been nominated again after his European Championship appearance. Palko Dardai (25) is returning to the national team as part of a rejuvenation of the squad.
Lots of Bundesliga experience in the squad
For the Berlin-born brothers, who played in almost all German youth teams, the match against Germany is a special moment. Andras Schäfer from local rivals 1. FC Union increases the Berlin factor for the Hungarians.
But Leipzig’s Peter Gulacsi and Willi Orban as well as Roland Sallai from SC Freiburg and former Leipzig player Dominik Szoboszlai (now FC Liverpool) are certainly particularly motivated. The 0-2 defeat in the European Championship group stage was a major annoyance for the Hungarians.
For Rossi, duels with Germany are always very exciting. “Games against Germany are never boring. Especially not against Julian Nagelsmann. He is a clever coach, his players have to be very versatile. And they were the best team at the European Championships alongside Spain, in my opinion,” he said.
Victory in Leipzig in the Nations League
In the last edition of the Nations League, Hungary won 1-0 in Leipzig, which prevented Germany from winning the group and could have been a warning to the then national coach Hansi Flick shortly before the World Cup failure in Qatar in 2022. Before that, the first leg in Budapest ended 1-1 and at the 2021 European Championship in Munich it was 2-2.
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