Hungary’s manager admits their duel against Ireland could hold more importance in the World Cup qualification reckoning to the visit of Portugal to Budapest three days later.
Marco Rossi is the long-time manager of a side that has qualified for three European Championships in a row.
They begin their campaign to end a 40-year wait for a World Cup appearance against Ireland on Saturday week at Lansdowne Road.
Backboned by Liverpool pair Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez, the Hungarian squad was also unveiled on the same day Ireland released theirs.
Their Italian manager has ruled out challenging Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese for the one automatic ticket to USA, Mexico and Canada next year.
Battling with Ireland for second and the runners-up slot is paramount.
“We will play our first match in the qualifiers in Dublin, where we will have to give our best performance, especially knowing what kind of competition we are participating in,” said Rossi.
Goalkeepers: Dénes Dibusz (Ferencvárosi TC), Péter Szappanos (Puskás Akadémia FC), Balázs Tóth (Blackburn Rovers – England).
Defenders: Bolla Bendegúz (Rapid Wien – Austria), Márton Dárdai (Hertha BSC – Germany), Milos Kerkez (FC Liverpool – England), Attila Mocsi (Rizespor – Turkey), Zsolt Nagy (Puskás Akadémia FC), Nego Loic (Le Havre AC – France), Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig – Germany), Attila Osváth (Paksi FC), Attila Szalai (Kasimpasa – Turkey), Gábor Szalai (Ferencvárosi TC).
Midfielders: Áron Csongvai (AIK – Sweden), Bence Dárdai (Vfl Wolfsburg – Germany), Bence Ötvös (Ferencvárosi TC), András Schäfer (Union Berlin – Germany), Callum Styles (West Bromwich Albion – England), Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool FC – England), Alex Tóth (Ferencvárosi TC), Milán Vitalis (ETO FC Győr).
Forwards: Zsombor Gruber (Ferencvárosi TC), Dániel Lukács (Puskás Academy FC), Rajmund Molnár (MTK Budapest), Roland Sallai (Galatasaray – Turkey), Barna Tóth (Paksi FC), Barnabás Varga (Ferencvárosi TC).