Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi will join the Hungary U-21 Men’s National Team next week for two matches in 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying.
Salloi and the Hungary U-21s will host Cyprus on Thursday, March 22 at Hidegkuti Nandor Stadion in Budapest before traveling to face group leaders Belgium on Monday, March 26 at Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven. Prior to joining the national team, Salloi will be available for selection Saturday when Sporting Kansas City hosts the San Jose Earthquakes at Children's Mercy Park.
The 21-year-old Salloi debuted for the Magyars last November, starting in a pair of European U-21 Championship qualifiers. He tallied a goal and an assist to pace Hungary’s 2-0 victory at Cyprus on Nov. 14.
Hungary is within striking distance of first place in Group 6 of UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying, six points behind Belgium with two fewer games played. A home-and-away round robin will see each team play 10 group stage matches by the end of October 2018, with the first-place finisher advancing to the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The second-place finisher will advance to a two-legged playoff in November 2018 if it is one of the four best second-place teams among the nine qualifying groups.
2019 UEFA EUROPEAN U-21 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING
GROUP 6 STANDINGS
<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 |
Belgium |
14 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
5 |
+5 |
2 |
Sweden |
8 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
4 |
+6 |
3 |
Hungary |
8 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
+3 |
4 |
Cyprus |
6 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
-6 |
5 |
Turkey |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
6 |
Malta |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
-7 |
Salloi has previously represented Hungary at the U-18 level, notably helping the Magyars to a third-place finish at the Vaclav Jezek Tournament in Czech Republic in 2013. He has also competed for the Hungary U-19s and trained with the U-21s during his youth international career.
In Sporting Kansas City’s 4-3 comeback win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday, Salloi notched a career-high two assists to land a spot on the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week bench. The homegrown forward enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2017 with six goals in 27 competitive appearances, including the game-winning goal in Sporting KC’s 2-1 defeat of the New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Children’s Mercy Park.
Salloi is the fourth generation of his family to play professional soccer. His father, Istvan Salloi, scored more than 130 goals during a 16-year professional career in Hungary and Israel. Istvan also appeared for the Hungary Men’s National Team 13 times between 1992-1995.
