Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi collected his third cap for Hungary in the space of week by helping the Magyars to an important 2-1 home win over Andorra as 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying continued Wednesday in the UEFA region.
Salloi entered as a halftime substitute at Puskas Arena in Budapest and made a palpable impact going forward, notching three shot attempts and drawing two fouls in 45 minutes of action. The hosts built a 2-0 lead by the 18th minute, striking through Adam Szalai and Endre Botka, and although Andorra grabbed a goal back from Max Llovera in the 82nd minute, Hungary held on to secure three precious points in their bid to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Hungary remains in fourth place in Group I but sits only two points back of second-place Poland in UEFA Group I of World Cup qualifying. Four qualifying matches remain for all six teams in the group and will be played during the October and November FIFA windows.
The top team in Group I will secure an automatic berth in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while the second place side will advance to a playoff round of qualifying next March.
Salloi was a second-half substitute in all three of Hungary's matches during the September FIFA window, logging 92 minutes of action across three qualifiers in Europe. His national team breakthrough is the latest feather in the cap for Salloi, who has enjoyed a brilliant 2021 MLS campaign as one of the league's most prolific attackers. He leads the league with 18 combined goals (12) and assists (six) and became the first Sporting KC Academy product to land MLS All-Star accolades when he featured in the MLS All-Star Game on Aug. 25 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Salloi, 25, will be available for selection Saturday when Sporting (11-5-7, 40 points) hosts Chicago Fire FC (6-11-5, 23 points) at Children's Mercy Park. The contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and tickets are available at SeatGeek.com, including Coca-Cola Family Four Packs consisting of four general admission tickets in the South Stand, four Coca-Cola products and four Domino's pizzas.
For supporters watching from home, the cross-conference clash will air live on Bally Sports Kansas City Plus and Bally Sports Midwest Plus with three hours of live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT. The match will also stream live on BallySports.com and the new Bally Sports app. Local radio broadcasts will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
