Sporting Kansas City forward Krisztian Nemeth will join the Hungary Men’s National Team for a pair of upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. Hungary will travel to Oslo to play Norway on Nov. 12 before returning to Budapest for the second leg on Nov. 15. The team with the most goals scored over the two legs will advance to next summer’s UEFA European Championship.
“These are important matches for our country,” Nemeth said. “It has been too long since Hungary has qualified for the European Championship. We have a strong team with good players and we look forward to next week’s matches against Norway.”
Hungary finished Euro 2016 qualifying with a 4-4-2 record and in third place in Group F. The top two teams from each group advanced directly to next year’s tournament. The top overall third-place finisher also earned a berth in the tournament, while the remaining eight third-place teams advanced to next week’s playoff.
Nemeth enjoyed a standout season with Sporting Kansas City. He was voted the club's Newcomer of the Year after scoring 16 goals with seven assists in all competitions. His 23 combined goals and assists was the most by a newcomer in team history and he was the only Kansas City player to score in all three competitions (regular season, postseason and Open Cup). The 26-year-old striker was voted MLS Player of the Month for May after tallying three assists and has two goals nominated for MLS Goal for the Year including his spectacular game-winning strike against the Portland Timbers on Oct. 3
Take a bow, Krisztián Németh official. You just won MLS Goal of the Year.MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: http://bit.ly/1M2tXJ0
Posted by Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, October 3, 2015
The former Liverpool striker had a major impact on Sporting KC’s run to the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship with five goals scored and one assist during the tournament. The Hungary international scored in all four Cup matches in which he played including the game-tying goal in the 65th minute of the championship match against the Philadelphia Union.
On the international front, Nemeth has appeared 21 times for Hungary, including six in 2015. In Hungary’s final Euro qualifier, Nemeth played 90 minutes and scored two goals in a 4-3 loss at Greece.
Next summer’s European Championship will be the 15th edition of the tournament. The winner will earn the right to participate in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. Hungary finished fourth at the 1972 European Championship, the last time they qualified for the quadrennial tournament.
