Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath and forward Krisztian Nemeth have been selected to the Hungary Men’s National Team for the resumption of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying during FIFA’s international window in June.
Barath, Nemeth and the Magyars will continue their Group E qualifying campaign on June 8, visiting Azerbaijan for an 11 a.m. CT matchup at Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku. Hungary will then host Wales on June 11 at Groupama Arena in Budapest with kickoff set for 1:45 p.m. CT.
Barath and Nemeth will join Hungary following Sporting’s MLS regular season match at the Houston Dynamo on June 1.
Group E of Euro qualifying is one of 10 groups that will determine which teams participate in UEFA Euro 2020, which is scheduled to take place in 12 cities across 12 different European countries during the summer of 2020.
Hungary are one of five nations in a challenging group alongside Azerbaijan, Wales, Slovakia and 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Croatia. Teams will square off in a home-and-away, double-round-robin format between now and November, with the top two finishers in the group advancing to the tournament finals.
The Magyars began their qualifying journey on March 21, taking a 2-0 loss at Slovakia before Barath helped Hungary bounce back three days later with a 2-1 home win over Croatia.
Barath, 27, has started eight of 10 appearances for Sporting in all competitions since joining the club in December from hometown side Budapest Honved FC. The center back made his club debut at LAFC on March 3 and assisted Krisztian Nemeth’s game-winning goal in a victory over Panamanian side Independiente on March 14 that propelled Sporting into the Concacaf Champions League Semifinals for the first time in team history.
Before debuting for Hungary’s senior team last October, Barath represented the Magyars at the U-18, U-19 and U-21 levels from 2009-2013. He most notably competed in qualifying matches for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Barath has collected four career caps at the senior level.
Nemeth, 30, leads Sporting with 10 goals this season in all competitions. The veteran striker found the back of the net four times in the Concacaf Champions League and is currently tied for fourth in MLS with six league goals. Nemeth, who scored a hat-trick in a 7-1 win over the Montreal Impact on March 30 and added a brace in a 4-4 draw with the New England Revolution on April 27, is now in his second stint with Sporting. He previously starred for Manager Peter Vermes’ side in 2015 before rejoining last August in a trade from New England.
Nemeth has made 35 appearances for Hungary since 2010, scoring four goals and competing at UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He also represented the Magyars in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying. He most recently featured for Hungary alongside Barath in a 1-0 loss to Greece last October in the UEFA Nations League.
