Hungarian national team: Our goal is to prove that we are not afraid of Sané or Kimmich – Rossi

As usual, national team captain Marco Rossi has announced in Hungarian the names of the players for the Nations League matches against Germany and Italy.

Then he was immediately asked how much Roland Sallai, who is injured, will miss these two matches.

"I don't usually complain about who is missing. But I can't deny it: Roland Sallai and Zsolt Nagy were two of our most important players in June. I hope their absence won't be felt too much, but it will be to some extent."

The journalists were also curious to know how much Milos Kerkez's chances will increase of making his debut in Zsolt Nagy's absence.

"We have several options which we are evaluating. Kerkez has been consistently performing well in one of Europe's very strong leagues. On Sunday, for example, he will play against Ajax before arriving in Telki. We are confident that he will be able to perform well in the national team as well."

Nemzeti Sport asked the Italian trainer whether the goal is to finish top of the group or to stay in the group.

"I want to continue to be humble. We do have the potential to win first place, but there are values in the German and Italian national teams that make us stay humble. Yesterday at Bayern Munich, seven German national team players were part of the team that beat Barcelona. What we did in Wolverhampton was extraordinary, but we are not a golden team nor a phenomenon. With a cool head, we have to think about how we can play our own game on the pitch against such big opponents. We'll try to stay in League A, but we might not score in these two matches. However, it's also true that if England doesn't win just one of its games, we'll stay in. But my aim is for the team to prove once again that it is not afraid of Sané, it is not afraid of Kimmich, it is not afraid of anyone, and it can leave the pitch with its head held high."

In the match against the Italians, he said he would predict a draw at the Puskás Aréna.

"I hope we can keep the joy and the enthusiasm in our fans because I feel that they can finally be enthusiastic about the national team matches. The fact that tickets for the game against Italy sold out in a day - they sold like hot cakes - is proof of that."

Then Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored a bomb goal against Dortmund, was also mentioned.

"If anyone expects Szoboszlai to give spectacular assists every time or to single-handedly upset the balance in matches, I would like to suggest a scene for them. In England, his kick missed the goal by two or three meters after a corner kick, England counterattacked, and he sprinted 80 meters to save his team from a huge goal danger. I don't think he could run that 80 meters before. It really shows how much he's worked on his own development; I think that's what we need to focus on."

Our colleague also asked him if he was worried that the Ferencváros players might be tired, as they have two games a week because of the international cup.

"Cherchesov is a great rotator, so I'm not afraid of that. Ferencváros has been the strongest Hungarian club team for years, that's why the team wins the league easily. I'm sorry to say this but FTC is the only Hungarian team that has a good chance of competing at the international level."

THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Dénes Dibusz(Ferencvárosi TC),Péter Gulácsi(RB Leipzig – Germany),Péter Szappanos (Budapest Honvéd FC)
Defenders:Bendegúz Bolla(Grasshoppers – Switzerland),Endre Botka(Ferencvárosi TC),Attila Fiola(Mol Fehérvár FC),Ákos Kecskés(LASK – Austria),Ádám Lang(Omonia – Cyprus),Attila Mocsi(Zalaegerszegi TE FC),Willi Orbán(RB Leipzig – Germany),Attila Szalai (Fenerbahce – Türkiye)
Midfielders:Péter Baráth(Debreceni VSC),Milos Kerkez(AZ – Netherlands),László Kleinheisler(NK Osijek – Croatia),Ádám Nagy(AC Pisa – Italy),Loïc Négo Loic(Mol Fehérvár FC),András Schäfer (FC Union Berlin – Germany,Callum Styles (Millwall FC – England),Bálint Vécsei(Ferencvárosi TC)
Attackers: Martin Ádám(Ulsan Hyundai – South Korea),Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union – United States),Ádám Szalai(FC Basel – Switzerland),Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig – Germany),Zalán Vancsa(Lommel SK – Belgium), Kevin Varga(Hatayspor – Türkiye)

NATIONS LEAGUE, GROUP STAGE

LEAGUE A, ROUND 3
September 23, 8.45pm:Germany–HUNGARY
September 26, 8.45:HUNGARY–Italy