Marco Rossi: Will we get to the qualifying play-offs? No, definitely not

"How do I respond to how my career will be affected after losing two games against Albania?– Marco Rossi repeated a journalist's question that had been asked moments earlier in the first minutes of the press conference following the Hungary-Albania World Cup qualifier. “I've said it many times that Albania is a dangerous opponent. Here is today's match: on our side, we hit the goalpost, while on the other side, Broja created a situation and utilized it. He's a great player. Our lack of quality around the opponent's penalty area was noticeable during finishes, passes, and shots. As far as performance is concerned, let's look at the stats: we didn't fall short of it; the difference that has emerged had come from the difference in the quality of the players. If you see it differently, I'll take it... I accept your comment."

When journalists asked him, Marco Rossi also talked about how difficult it can be to find motivation for the qualifying series. How can you boost the squad for Wembley in England?

"Simply with the fact that, as in all their matches, they are fighting for their country's jersey, the Hungarian jersey. We must represent Hungary in the most respectable way possible. If the question is whether we'll get to the qualifying play-offs, no, I'm sure we won't. The important thing is to play against England in a way that we can come down from the field with our head held high."

The head coach hinted again that he would not stick to the Hungarian bench. He takes responsibility for the failures, but he does not think his time on the Hungarian bench is useless.

"What happened after the European Championship? There's definitely been a drop in performance. But that's generally true. There's such a thing in football. Players are greatly influenced by the result achieved. Overall, I don't feel like we played badly today; we had unforced errors, and yes, we lost two or three balls in the first half, but we were ok until the last 15 minutes; we lacked quality in the front. We have no players for different parts of the team. Maybe it's just me who can't see, but we've had a hard time developing players who can play at a high level.”

"For the umpteenth time, they may call our opponent Albania, but they're a good team. They are a team that is behind us in terms of results, but they are a very good team in quality. I'm not Jesus Christ. As much more successful coaches than me have said, a coach is like a winemaker, you can only make wine from what you can harvest. I've been here since 2019, we went from league C to league A in the Nations League, we got to the European Championship, we play with better opponents than before, not just with Andorra. We've even lost to Andorra before. Of course, I take responsibility, I'm the one who decides who plays, who to substitute, but the player pool is not just up to me. If anyone recommends players, even privately, I'm happy to listen to it," he added while stressing that he doesn't expect names thrown in on a friendly basis.

Albanian head coach Edoardo Reja said his goals have not changed, he hopes to get four points for the match against Hungary and Poland. Seeing the good team play, the right mentality, he believes they can pinch a point in the home game against Poland.

"Of course, the appetite comes while eating. It's nice to see the team finally taking the initiative. We've only reacted a lot before, we've defended, but now we've got our own attacking game. We want to win against Poland, but if we just have one point, I will be satisfied with that after the success against Hungary."

EUROPEAN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
ROUND 7
GROUP I
HUNGARY – ALBANIA 0–1 (0–0)
Budapest,Puskás Aréna,50spectators.Referee:Cerro Grande (Spain)
HUNGARY:Gulácsi – Botka (Lang, 83.), Orbán, A. Szalai – Négo (J. Hahn, 83.), Á. Nagy (Kleinheisler, 71.), Schäfer, Zs. Nagy – R. Sallai (Vécsei, 71.), D. Sallói (Schön, 59.), Szoboszlai.Head coach:Marco Rossi
ALBANIA:Berisha – Ismajli, Kumbulla, Djimsiti (Veseli, 30.) – Hysaj, Bare, Gjasula, Trashi (Iván Balliu, 86.) – Uzuni (Broja, 66.), Cikalleshi (Manaj, 66.), Cekici (Bajrami, a szünetben).Head coach:Edoardo Reja
Goalscorer:Broja (80.)

Other matches in the group

Poland–San Marino 5–0(Swiderski 10., Brolli 20. – own goal, Kedziora 50., Buksa 84., Piatek 90+1.)
Andorra–England 0–5(Chilwell 17., B. Saka 40., T. Abraham 59., Ward-Prowse 79., Grealish 86.)

STANDING

Translated by Vanda Orosz