Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai endured heartbreaking scenes on international duty as he broke down in tears following Hungary’s 3-2 World Cup qualifying defeat to Portugal.
The Hungarian captain was caught on television sobbing and apologising to supporters after his misplaced pass led to Joao Cancelo scoring the decisive goal in Budapest, as reported by Origo Sport.
With the game tied at 2-2 in the closing stages, the midfielder attempted to find Anfield teammate Milos Kerkez, only for his pass to be intercepted.
Portugal punished the error immediately, Cancelo firing home to secure victory and leave Szoboszlai inconsolable at the final whistle.
According to the Hungarian outlet, the 24-year-old buried his face in his shirt and could not bring himself to address the media afterwards, a rare moment for a player usually first to speak post-match.
Television cameras instead showed him being comforted by goalkeeper Balazs Toth, while he mouthed apologies to the fans in the stands.
For us, it is a reminder of the pressure our No.8 carries when representing his country, where he is captain and focal point of their team.
Liverpool have already signed Florian Wirtz for a record fee to share some of that creative responsibility at Anfield, but Szoboszlai remains central to our plans under Arne Slot.
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
The hope will be that Szoboszlai’s anguish does not linger, with Liverpool needing his energy and leadership as we continue our title defence.
Wherever Slot chooses our No.8 to play, he needs to get this setback behind him and focus on helping Liverpool maintaining our place at the top of the table.