Hungary vs. Croatia
UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying | Group E
Sunday, March 24 | Noon CT
ESPNEWS, Univision Deportes, WatchESPN
Groupama Arena | Budapest, Hungary
Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath and striker Krisztian Nemeth will conclude their week-long stint with the Hungary Men's National Team on Sunday as the Maygars host 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Croatia in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier at Groupama Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
Fans can catch Sunday's enticing matchup live in English on ESPNEWS and in Spanish on Univision Deportes, while WatchESPN will provide a live stream.
Barath and Nemeth didn't feature in Hungary's 2-0 loss at Slovakia on Thursday as qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020 kicked off across the continent. The Slovakians took a 42nd-minute lead through Ondrej Duda before Real Salt Lake midfielder Albert Rusnak sealed the result with an 85th-minute strike.
The Sporting KC duo will hope to see more action Sunday on home soil, facing a formidable Croatian side that captured the imaginations of millions with an impressive run to the FIFA World Cup Final last summer. Spearheaded by the likes of 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric, Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic and Inter Milan forward Ivan Perisic, Croatia opened their Euro qualifying campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Azerbaijan on Thursday. Borna Barisic and Andrej Kramaric bagged goals as head coach Zlatko Dalic's side got off to a winning start in Group E.
Hungary and Croatia are two of five teams in Group E that will square off in a home-and-away, double-round-robin format between now and November for a total of eight games. The top two finishers will advance to the tournament finals, which is scheduled to take place in 12 cities in 12 different European countries during the summer of 2020.
UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFYING: GROUP E TABLE
<strong>#</strong> |
<strong>TEAM</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>T</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
1 |
Slovakia |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
2 |
Croatia |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
3 |
Wales |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Azerbaijan |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
5 |
Hungary |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
Barath has earned four straight starts in his debut season with Sporting, acclimating quickly and effectively in his first year away from hometown club Budapest Honved FC. Nemeth, meanwhile, has scored five goals in six appearances for Sporting this season, reclaiming the scintillating form that saw him first shine for the club in 2015.
The Sporting duo join a 26-man Hungary squad led by Italian-born head coach Marco Rossi, who happened to coach Barath at Honved from 2012-2014 and again from 2015-2017. The Magyars are hoping to make their second straight Euro appearance, having returned to the 2016 edition in France for their first trip to the tournament since 1972.
Hungary Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig), Denes Gibusz (Ferencvaros), Adam Kovacsik (MOL Vidi)
Defenders (8): Tamas Kadar (Dynamo Kiev), Gergo Lovrencsics (Ferencvaros), Adam Lang (CFR Cluj), Barnabas Bese (Le Havre), Mihaly Korhut (Aris), Paulo Vinicius (MOL Vidi), Willi Orgban (RB Leipzig), Botond Barath (Sporting Kansas City)
Midfielders (10): Balazs Dzsudzsak (Ittihad Kalba), Adam Nagy (Bologna), Laszlo Kleinheisler (Osijek), Mate Patkai (MOL Vidi), Zsolt Kalmar (DAC Dinajska Streda), Istvan Kovacs (MOL Vidi), Dominik Nagy (Legia Warsaw), David Holman (Slovan Bratislava), Daniel Gazdag (Honved), Dominik Szoboszlai (Red Bull Salzburg)
Forwards (5): Adam Szalai (Hoffenheim), Roland Varga (Ferencvaros), Norbert Balogh (APOEL), Filip Holender (Honved), Krisztian Nemeth (Sporting Kansas City)
