Hungary set for international matches against Sweden and Azerbaijan
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Hungary will step up their preparations for their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with two international friendlies in June.
According to Sports Today, they host Sweden on June 6, before visiting Azerbaijan four days later. Head coach Marco Rossi has called up 25 players for the two games.
Dominik Szoboszlai is the standout name in the squad having recently helped Liverpool claim the Premier League title for just the second time.
Rossi plans to use the friendlies as an opportunity to give several fringe players the chance to stake their claim for a regular place in the squad.
“We’ve decided to call up players who’ve been squad members in the past, but who’ve not received call-ups most recently,” Rossi told mlsz.hu.
“One of the reasons for this is that we’ll play two friendly matches in this international break, and another is that these players have been in recent good form for their clubs.
“We’d like to observe them during these two matches and the associated training sessions, but naturally the door to selection is not shut to anyone and it is important to emphasise this.”
Hungary are desperate to qualify for the World Cup having failed to secure a place at the prestigious tournament since Mexico staged the event in 1986.
They have appeared in the last three editions of the European Championship, but progressing to the global showpiece has proved to be beyond them.
However, with FIFA expanding the tournament to 48 teams for the first time, Hungary have an excellent chance of ending their World Cup drought.
They have been drawn alongside Portugal, Armenia and Republic of Ireland and will fancy their chances of securing a top two finish in the group.
The group winners progress automatically to the World cup, while the runners-up will have the opportunity to secure one of four qualification places via the play-offs.