Hungary–Poland: Exciting match ahead – Nalepa

In recent years, a small number of Polish footballers have been represented in the Hungarian League (NB I). The most famous of these is former Ferencváros defender Michal Nalepa, who played for the green and whites in 102 games between 2014 and summer 2017. The one-time Hungarian champion and three-time Hungarian Cup winner spent the last few years in his home country with developing-into-a-topflight team Lechia Gdansk, with which he won the Polish Cup and Super Cup. Of course, he also cares about the upcoming Hungarian-Polish World Cup qualifier, and he shared his opinion on the match with our newspaper.

“There's a very interesting, exciting match ahead of us,” Michal Nalepa responded to our question.–Both teams are strong and full of excellent players. We've made some personnel changes, so I'm looking forward to the results we're making under the new head coach, Paulo Sousa. I expect a difficult clash, which will surely be a close one, but if I had to ponder the odds, I would predict Poland's victory. There is a clear answer to what or who is in favor of us; it's Robert Lewandowski. That should hardly surprise anyone, as he is currently the best footballer in the world. As the team captain, he's the most important member, and the team's effectiveness depends largely on his game. If he's in good shape, he could be a threat to any national team. However, football is a team sport, so not all responsibilities should be put on his shoulders. That's why it's worth remembering the other squad members, as we have so many players in the European top leagues and a number of youngsters have been invited by the head coach, which is also good. With Kamil Piatkowski, Sebastian Kowalczyk, Kacper Kozlowski and Bartosz Slisz, the national team is under new impulses, blood transfusions are under way, and the footballers are all heating up their deeds. I'm sure they won't be scared of their opponents, they'll play uncompromisingly, which could benefit our national team.”

The 28-year-old defender's words show that the Polish footballers who are hardly scared on the pitch of Puskás Aréna will be running against the Hungarian national team on March 25. Routine, quality, ambition, and freshness will also be present in our opponents, so we asked if there are any circumstances that wouldn't be in their favor.

"To talk about problems as well, time certainly doesn't work for the national team," Michal Nalepa continued. Paulo Sousa will have little time to shape and prepare the team for his first game. He faces a great challenge in Budapest, but during his coaching career we've seen that he's been entrusted with prestigious European clubs. He has the knowledge and experience to overcome this and meet the expectations. I'm sure that after every training session and match, the national team will look better and better, and could be in top form for this summer's European Championships."

Therefore, the Hungarian players' task is clear: they must take advantage of the fact that the Polish' game might not be tactically mature. Several of Michal Nalepa's former teammates in Ferencváros can do a lot to get the Hungarian national team prevail.

"I was teammates with Dénes Dibusz, Ádám Nagy, Roland Varga, László Kleinheisler, Gergő Lovrencsics and Endre Botka from the Hungarian national team," Michal Nalepa recalled. "Although I left the club four years ago, I have fond memories of them. I've learned a lot from them, so I'm looking forward to how they perform against Poland.”

POLISH NATIONAL TEAM'S 27-MEMBER SQUAD
Goalkeepers:Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham United – England), Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna– Italy), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus– Italy)
Defenders:Jan Bednarek (Southampton – England), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria– Italy), Pawel Dawidowicz (Hellas Verona– Italy), Kamil Glik (Benevento – Italy), Michal Helik (Barnsley FC – England), Kamil Piatkowski (Raków Czestochowa), Arkadiusz Reca (Crotone – Italy), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow – Russia)
Midfielders:Rafal Augustyniak (FK Ural – Russia), Kamil Grosicki (West Bromwich Albion– England), Kamil Józwiak (Derby County– England), Mateusz Klich (Leeds United– England), Sebastian Kowalczyk (Pogon Szczecin), Kacper Kozlowski (Pogon Szczecin), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Lokomotiv Moscow – Russia), Jakub Moder (Brighton & Hove Albion– England), Przemyslaw Placheta (Norwich City– England), Bartosz Slisz (Legia Warszawa), Sebastian Szymanski (Dynamo Moscow – Russia), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli – Italy)
Forwards:Robert Lewandowski (Bayern München – Germany), Arkadiusz Milik (Olympique Marseille – France), Krzysztof Piatek (Hertha BSC – Germany), Karol Swiderski (PAOK – Greece)

HUNGARIAN NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Goalkeepers:Dénes Dibusz (FTC), Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig – Germany), Balázs Tóth (Puskás Akadémia)
Defenders:Endre Botka (FTC), Attila Fiola (Mol Fehérvár FC), Szilveszter Hangya (Mol Fehérvár FC), Ákos Kecskés (Lugano – Switzerland), Ádám Lang (Omonia Nicosia – Cyprus), Gergő Lovrencsics (FTC), Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig – Germany), Attila Szalai (Fenerbahce – Turkey)
Midfielders:Tamás Cseri (Mezőkövesd), Dániel Gazdag (Budapest Honvéd), Filip Holender (FK Partizan – Serbia), Zsolt Kalmár (DAC – Slovakia), László Kleinheisler (NK Osijek – Croatia), Ádám Nagy (Bristol City – England), LoïcNégo (Mol Fehérvár FC), András Schäfer (DAC – Slovakia), Dávid Sigér (FTC)
Forwards:Krisztián Géresi (Puskás Akadémia), Nemanja Nikolić (Mol Fehérvár FC), Roland Sallai (Freiburg – Germany), Ádám Szalai (Mainz – Germany), Kevin Varga (Kasimpasa – Turkey), Roland Varga (MTK Budapest)

WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS, EUROPE
GROUP I SCHEDULE

ROUND 1, MARCH 25, THURSDAY
8.45PM:HUNGARY – Poland
8.45PM:England – San Marino
8.45PM:Andorra – Albania

6PM:Albania – England
8.45PM:San Marino – HUNGARY
8.45PM:Poland – Andorra

ROUND 3, MARCH 31, WEDNESDAY
8.45PM:Andorra – HUNGARY
8.45PM:England – Poland
8.45PM:San Marino – Albania

ROUND 4, SEPTEMBER 2, THURSDAY
8.45PM:HUNGARY – England
8.45PM:Andorra – San Marino
8.45PM:Poland – Albania

6PM:Albania – HUNGARY
6PM:England – Andorra
8.45PM:San Marino – Poland

8.45PM:HUNGARY – Andorra
8.45PM:Poland – England
8.45PM:Albania – San Marino

8.45PM:HUNGARY – Albania
8.45PM:Andorra – England
8.45PM:Poland – San Marino

8.45PM:England – HUNGARY
8.45PM:San Marino – Andorra
8.45:Albania – Poland

8.45PM:HUNGARY – San Marino
8.45PM:Andorra – Poland
8.45PM:England – Albania

8.45PM:Poland – HUNGARY
8.45PM:San Marino – England
8.45PM:Albania – Andorra

Translated by Vanda Orosz