Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview

In our Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview, we review Hungary’s schedule and squad as well as making a preview of how far they’ll advance in the tournament.

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview:

Manager: Bernd Storck

Captain: Balazs Dzsudzsak

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview: Fixtures:

Tuesday, June 14

Austria vs. Hungary, Noon, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Sling TV, Sling Latino and WatchESPN (tickets)

Saturday, June 18

Iceland vs. Hungary, Noon, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Sling TV, Sling Latino and WatchESPN (tickets)

Wednesday, June 22

Hungary vs. Portugal, Noon, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Sling TV, Sling Latino and WatchESPN (tickets)

SEE MORE: Complete schedule of Euro 2016 games on US TV and streaming

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview: Squad:

Goalkeepers: Gabor Kiraly (Haladas), Denes Dibusz (Ferencvaros), Peter Gulacsi (Leipzig).

Defenders: Attila Fiola (Puskas Akademia), Barnabas Bese (MTK), Richard Guzmics (Wisla Krakow), Roland Juhasz (Videoton), Adam Lang (Videoton), Tamas Kadar (Lech Poznan), Mihaly Korhut (Debrecen).

Midfielders: Akos Elek (Diosgyori), Adam Pinter (Ferencvaros), Zoltan Gera (Ferencvaros), Adam Nagy (Ferencvaros), Laszlo Kleinheisler (Werder Bremen), Gergo Lovrencsics (Lech Poznan), Zoltan Stieber (Nurnberg).

Forwards: Balazs Dzsudzsak (Bursaspor), Adám Szalai (Hannover), Krisztian Nemeth (al-Gharafa), Nemanja Nikolic (Legia Warsaw), Tamas Priskin (Slovan Bratislava), Daniel Bode (Ferencvaros).

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview: Overview:

Formerly the most feared football nation on the planet during the days of the iconic Golden Team in the 1950s, those from Hungary are now just contented to see their team back in a major tournament once again.

It’s the first time since the 1986 World Cup they’ve been involved in a summer showpiece and remarkably, 44 years since they last made it to the finals of their continental competition. But after overcoming Norway impressively in the playoffs, they’ve benefitted from the expansion of the competition and will be keen to show what they can do in France.

Admittedly, it’s not a list of players that’ll strike fear into the hearts of their group stage opponents. Former Premier League stars Gabor Kiraly—set to become the nation’s record appearance-maker at the tournament—and Zoltan Gera, despite being well past their very best, remain key men in the squad. Skipper Dzsudzak is their biggest threat going forward.

They do have a lot of resilience, though, with Storck galvanising this group to battle for every ball and go toe-to-toe with their opponents, traits that have been scarce in recent Hungary teams. Their two wins over Norway—1-0 away from home and 2-1 in the return leg—epitomised the togetherness that’s got them so far.

It’s difficult to see them going much further, though. While spirited and gritty, there will be concerns as to whether an attacking trio of Dzsudzsak, Krisztian Nemeth and former Championship journeyman striker Tamas Priskin is capable of causing problems for the standard of defences they’ll be up against.

They netted more than one goal on just two occasions in their qualifying group, suggesting Hungary may need to try something new if they’re to get some points on the board. Any kind of positive result will be viewed as a fine effort for the nation, though, and another key step forward in their footballing recovery.

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview: Key Player:

Balazs Dzsudzsak – The captain is one of a few players in the squad to have experienced football at the highest level and Dzsudzsak must lead by example in the final third.

So much of Hungary’s attacking effectiveness relies on the former Dynamo Moscow, Anzhi Makhachkala and PSV Eindhoven man. While he may have never quite delivered on the exciting promise he showed with the latter, his left foot is still a major weapon. The Bursaspor star still possesses the panache and pace to beat his man in one-on-one battles.

He may not see too much of the ball, with Hungary likely to be penned back for long spells of their matches. However, it’s imperative Dzsudzsak leads counter-attacks with calmness to take pressure off a defence that’ll be quickly overwhelmed otherwise.

Hungary: Euro 2016 team preview: Verdict:

Group Stage Elimination – Things could have been harder for Hungary in terms of the draw and while Portugal will be too good, they may feel as though they’re capable of nicking something against both Austria and Iceland. However, those two outfits have a couple of star men that can tip the balance their way; that kind of character must emerge for Hungary if they’re to make the knockout stages.