Sporting Kansas City center back Botond Barath started and played 90 minutes for the Hungary Men's National Team on Monday in a narrow 2-1 defeat to rivals Slovakia at Groupama Arena in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
The result drops Hungary from first to third place in the ultra-competitive Group E of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying with three matchdays remaining between now and November. The top two finishers in the group will advance to UEFA Euro 2020, which will take place next summer in 12 different cities across the continent.
Barath recorded his eighth senior cap with a full shift in central defense, while his Sporting Kansas City teammate Krisztian Nemeth was an unused substitute for the Magyars. Slovakia took a first-half lead through Robert Mak before Dominik Szoboszlai's sublime free kick leveled terms on 50 minutes. The visitors would strike again six minutes later, however, as Robert Bozenik bagged the game-winner to deliver Hungary a bitter loss.
Barath and Nemeth will now rejoin Sporting for the club's last five fixtures of the 2019 MLS regular season. The decisive stretch of games begins Sunday when Manager Peter Vermes' men visit the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. CT with live coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app, ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM.
