European Qualifiers for World Cup: Where does Hungary stand?

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Hungary ranks at 27th place in Group I of the European qualifiers. However, this does not mean that Hungary will rank this low forever. The national team’s ranking is bound to rise as it is highly likely that Hungary will win more matches and score more goals, so there is some heartfelt excitement for the next Europa League.

What matters, even more, is how good the Hungarian football players are on the bottom level and those who have been playing in second or third-league teams. Those from second or third-league teams cannot make it onto higher levels if there is no depth, and this would make qualifying a dream rather than a reality.

One should first look at where Hungary is standing in Group I of the European Qualifiers concerning team rankings.

Team Rankings

With the November 2021 round of European Qualifiers, Hungary had played its 10th match. As of now, it has won 5 games, lost 3, and drawn 2. There are 11 more rounds to go in the competition before the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

What matters a great deal is how a tournament runs in terms of where a country stands. In the European Qualifiers group stage, there are six groups and each has four teams.

The most successful team from each group will qualify for the World Cup finals in 2022. The second-ranked team from each group will play against one another in what is called the play-offs. The two best teams from the play-off stage will qualify for the World Cup finals of 2022.

The point system is as follows:

Win=3 points

Draw=1 point

Loss=0 points

So, 5 points are needed to win a match, whereas 1 point is awarded if drawn.

Team Squad

Hungarian defenders include Ádám Lang and Ákos Kecskés (permanent players); Attila Fiola  (Videoton), Márk Tamas, Endre Botka, Loïc Négo (Fehérvár FC), and Botond Balogh (regular substitutes); Bendegúz Bolla and Gergő Lovrencsics (on-and pro players).

In the midfield is Tamás Cseri (Videoton), Ádám Nagy, and Dominik Szoboszlai along with András Schafer, and Kevin and Roland Varga.

Up front are Dániel Sallói, Filip Holender,  Ádám Szalai (captain) and Roland Sallai. The team is coached by Marco Rossi who took over the role of head coach in 2018.

The best goal scorers are Roland Sallai and Ádám Szalai, with three goals each so far. Dániel Gazdag is also on three goals, and Dominik Szoboszlai has scored two goals.

The goalkeepers are Lajos Hegedüs, Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC and Balázs Tóth (Puskás Akadémia FC), and these keepers will have their hands full to say the least. Backup comes from Péter Gulácsi and  Ádám Bogdán.

Team captain Ádám Szalai was born in 1987 is now 33, and this may be his last captainship going into the world cup 2026.

Player rankings

Player rankings are determined according to several factors: total minutes played, number of games, number of goals scored by the player, number of assists, and number of yellow and red cards. Some players’ rankings may be lower than 45th place as they have received more yellow and red cards than assists or goals scored: that means that those players cannot qualify for Euro Cup or World Cup 2022.

One thing is certain about the Hungarian national team’s success in the World Cup 2022. Let’s take a look at how many points Hungary has won so far.

The Hungarians have won 17 points out of a possible 25, which gives them a score of 68 percent. These stats, however, are not an impressive percentage as teams with the same number of points have a higher rate or percentage than Hungary.

For example, Turkey has won 77 percent of their points, while Estonia has won 81 percent. So, if Hungary wants to qualify for the World Cup 2022, they need to increase the number of points they are winning during the European qualifiers.

Hungary currently ranks at 27th place in Group I of the European Qualifiers, which means that the Hungarian national team still has a long way to go before making it onto football pitches across Qatar. At present, there are four matches left for Team Hungary to play during the European Qualifiers 2021/22.

If things stay as they are now, Hungary can hope to make it to Qatar in 2022 (although it’s unlikely).

Hungary biggest football successes

One of Hungary’s biggest football successes was winning the gold medal at the Olympics in 1952 held in Helsinki, Finland. The national team had a record number of member players which included Ferenc Puskás, József Bozsik, Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor and Gyula Grosics.

In 2002 Hungary was ranked 15th place by FIFA, the highest rank for a long time. They took part in World Cup 2002 held across South Korea, and Japan got to the quarter-finals, which was an outstanding achievement.

Hungary also won bronze at the European Championship in 1964 held across Spain, silver at the football tournament of Olympics in 1952 held in Helsinki, and gold and silver at European Championships as well as bronze.

In 2003 Hungary was ranked 21st by FIFA, which means they went down ten rankings from 2002. In 2017 Hungary was still ranked 21st by FIFA, which is not very good for a team that has gained so much over its history since it was founded back in 1899. 

The famed Ferenc Puskás laid the foundation for this team’s success where he helped the national side win three Olympic gold medals. He also managed to win both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s World Cup Golden Boot awards for his performance in the 1954 World Cup.

Hungary qualified for football matches at the World Cup  in 2018 held across Russia since they finished as group winners, beating Norway and defeating Greece 3-1 and Liechtenstein 5-0 and drawing 2-2 with Latvia.

Predictions

Hungary will not qualify for the World Cup 2022. They have a poor record this time, and it will be quite a surprise if they are eligible. Their best chance of winning is to invest in the team’s performance at the next European Championships, which will see them improve on their previous performances (if they can).

Hungary needs some good things to happen for them because they are not doing very well compared to other teams participating in the European qualifiers. Their most recent match saw the Hungarian team lose 0-1 to Albania, but they managed to draw 1-1 against England and pull a flanker with a last-minute win against Poland, which was a good result.