Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gadi Kinda and forward Daniel Salloi will look to bounce back from narrow losses with their respective national teams on Tuesday when Israel and Hungary continue their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns in the UEFA region.
Kinda and Israel are set for a must-win matchup against Group I minnows Moldova, while Salloi and Hungary will travel to face star-studded England at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London. Both games will kick off at 1:45 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus.
The Sporting Kansas City duo will return stateside later this week and rejoin the club ahead of Sunday's pivotal road match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 9 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest.
Israel vs. Moldova
2022 World Cup Qualifying | UEFA Group F
Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021 | 1:45 p.m. CT
Turner Stadium | Be'er Sheva, Israel
Streaming on ESPN Plus
Kinda landed his fourth career cap in a losing effort on Saturday as Israel suffered a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow. He entered the game with 74 minutes on the clock and the score tied at 2-2, only to see Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay bag a dramatic winner in second-half stoppage time.
Saturday's result sees Israel remain in third place in Group F, four points behind Scotland and 11 behind runaway leaders Denmark. Seeking their first World Cup appearance since 1970, the Israelis have three matches remaining in their qualifying campaign and must finish second in order to reach UEFA's World Cup playoffs in March 2022.
Kinda has rejoined Israel after linking up with the squad for the FIFA window early last month. He was an unused substitute in World Cup qualifying wins against the Faroe Islands and Austria and came off the bench in a loss at Group F leaders Denmark on Sept. 7 for his third career cap at the international level. Kinda previously punctuated his Israel debut with a sensational long-range goal in a 3-1 friendly win at Montenegro on June 5 and made his first start four days later in a friendly defeat at European powerhouse Portugal.
Kinda recently scored one goal and set up another in Sporting's 4-2 win against Houston Dynamo FC on Oct. 3 at Children's Mercy Park. He has five goals and four assists with starts in 19 of 21 MLS appearances this year.
Hungary at England
2022 World Cup Qualifying | UEFA Group I
Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021 | 1:45 p.m. CT
Wembley Stadium | London, England
Streaming on ESPN Plus
Salloi earned his first career start for Hungary in a narrow 1-0 home loss to Albania on Saturday, exiting in the 59th minute with the score still tied at 0-0. Armando Broja scored the all-important winner for Albania in the 79th minute of a fiercely competitive match at Puskas Arena in Budapest, dealing a significant blow to Hungary's hopes of reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
The defeat drops Hungary to fourth place in Group I with three qualifying matches still to play between now and mid-November. The first-place finisher will punch their ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while the group runners-up will advance to a World Cup playoff contested among other second-place finishers in the UEFA region next March.
Tuesday will present a special opportunity for Salloi as he visits one of the world's most heralded soccer venues. London's Wembley Stadium will see the Magyars lock horns against a star-studded England side that features several Premier League stars including Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Declan Rice, Luke Shaw and others.
Salloi now has four career caps for the Magyars, all of which coming over the last five weeks after the winger made three substitute appearances in early September. The MLS MVP candidate leads MLS with 23 combined goals (16) and assists (seven) this year.
