Storck: Now is the time to step on the gas

Hungary’s national men’s team head coach Bernd Storck held a press conference at the national-team training centre in Telki ahead of Friday’s FIFA World Cup qualifier with Switzerland in Budapest.

Mr Storck said that the past week was useful, especially because the Under 21 players were able to show what they are able to do, but at the same time, his squad is still not quite complete.

“I am pleased that the team is together again; everybody is here except Barnabás Bese and Balázs Megyeri who only arrive now due to club commitments. We’ve done some good work together with the Under 21 squad this last week; what we showed them was that we count on them and we’re planning the future with them in our minds, while what they proved was that we can count with their skills”.

The national team squad participated in a morning training session on Monday with those who didn’t play in league matches on the weekend, while those who had been in action were more focused on regeneration.

“We have no time to lose and, to tell the truth, on Friday we will need a lot more than our most recent performance (against the Faroe Islands) in front of a full house. We need to use every minute of our preparation, which is why we’re training today. The Swiss team will be a very tough opponent – they hardly conceded a goal during Euro 2016, were they were knocked out without being defeated in open play, and in this World Cup qualifying campaign they already beat Portugal. We don’t need to be frightened of anyone in front of our own fans though, we’re really hungry for the match, and if we want to achieve results, we need to show our ability. I feel that our boys, after the muted success of the opening match, would like to finally ‘step on the gas’ “.

Storck also emphasised how important it is for Hungarian football to develop in every area and that while it is heading in the right direction, there is still plenty to do.

“At a European level we need to look at these types of challenges as ones we can only overcome together; in order to develop, there is a need for a joint effort between NBI and NBII clubs and the MLSZ”.

Photo: MTI

Copy editor: bm

Source: MLSZ – Press release