Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi has been selected to the Hungary Men’s National Team for the continuation of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying in October.
After making his first three appearances for Hungary's senior team earlier this month, Salloi will join the Magyars once again for a pair of World Cup qualifiers in Group I of the UEFA region. Hungary will host Albania on Oct. 9 at Puskas Arena in Budapest before traveling to London to face England on Oct. 12 at the iconic Wembley Stadium. Both matches will kick off at 1:45 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus.
Salloi will depart for Europe following Sporting Kansas City’s home match against Houston Dynamo FC on Sunday afternoon at Children’s Mercy Park (tickets).
Hungary MNT World Cup Qualifying Schedule
- Saturday, Oct. 9 vs. Albania | 1:45 p.m. CT | Puskas Arena | Budapest, Hungary
- Tuesday, Oct. 12 at England | 1:45 p.m. CT | Wembley Stadium | London, England
Currently enjoying a brilliant 2021 MLS campaign with 13 goals and six assists, Salloi collected three caps for Hungary during the September FIFA window by coming off the bench in World Cup qualifiers versus England on Sept. 2, Albania on Sept. 5 and Andorra on Sept. 8.
Under the guidance of Italian head coach Marco Rossi, Hungary are seeking their first World Cup appearance since 1986. The Magyars currently occupy fourth place in UEFA Group I, a point behind third-place Poland and two behind second-place Albania, with four qualifying matches still to play between now and mid-November. England are in pole position to finish first in the group and qualify directly for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while the second-place team will advance to a playoff round contested among UEFA countries in March 2022.
Before his first-team breakthrough earlier this month, Salloi previously represented Hungary in 2019 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying, scoring once in four appearances from November 2017 to March 2018. He earned his first selection to Hungary’s senior team in September 2018 and was an unused substitute in UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and Finland.
Salloi is tied for third in MLS with 13 goals and tied for fourth with 19 total goal contributions. He has become the first Sporting KC Academy product to receive MLS All-Star recognition, having helped his MLS teammates to a penalty shootout win over the LIGA MX All-Stars in the MLS All-Star Game on Aug. 25 in Los Angeles.
Now in his sixth season with Sporting, Salloi has started 21 of 24 MLS matches in 2021 and scored in 12 separate matches this season, the most in the league. With five game-winning goals and three game-winning assists, he has scored or assisted the match winner in eight of Sporting’s 13 victories this year. Among MLS forwards, he also ranks fifth with 32 chances created and fourth with 127 touches in the opponent’s box.
Since signing for Sporting as a Homegrown Player in 2016, Salloi has amassed 36 goals and 16 assists in 131 appearances across all competitions. A breakthrough campaign in 2017 saw him score six goals, including the winner against the New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Children’s Mercy Park. Salloi reached new heights in 2018, claiming golden boot honors for the club with 16 goals and seven assists—including three strikes in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
In addition to winning the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, Salloi helped Sporting to first-place finishes in the West in 2018 and 2020. He was also named the club’s Neal and Jeanne Patterson Humanitarian of the Year in 2019 for his philanthropic work with The Victory Project and across the Kansas City community.
A native of Budapest, Hungary, Salloi moved to the United States in August 2014 as an exchange student and attended Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas. He joined the Sporting Kansas City Academy U-18s for the 2014-15 season and scored a team-high 21 goals in 28 appearances, including three hat-tricks. During his time in the Academy, Salloi lived with a host family in a program currently supported by the Audi Goals Drive Progress initiative.
