Chairman of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ) Sándor Csányi has given his first long-form interview to the Hungarian press since Euro 2024 ended in Germany. As we reported, the Hungarian national team exited the group stage after finishing third behind Germany and Switzerland, but ahead of Scotland. The chance for advancing as one of the top four third-place finishers stayed alive until the very last group game between Portugal and Georgia, where the Georgians managed to get an upset win.
Chairman Csányi talked to the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport. He said that he is ‘disappointed on a personal level’ that Hungary did not make it out of the group stage. However, he pointed out that the team finished below countries higher ranked in the FIFA World Ranking, and ahead of a country lower ranked—so, in that aspect, the results are realistic.
Prior to the tournament, he had said that it was a reasonable expectation from the national team to qualify from the group. Now, he has expressed some regret over those statements, saying that it may have put unnecessary pressure on the players. That is why Chairman Csányi is not willing to make any such statements about the upcoming qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
At the press conference after the last game against Scotland back in June, Head Coach Marco Rossi made some statements that were construed as onymous by the Hungarian sports press at the time. He said that he was ‘unable to enjoy a moment from the European Championship,’ and said that he needed some rest before he could talk about his future. Some journalists speculated that he was contemplating resigning from his post, and reported on tension allegedly forming between the coach and the players.
Chairman Csányi, however, has now put these rumours to rest.
He stated that Coach Rossi, who has been with the team since 2018, has a ‘rock-solid contract’ with the Football Association until the end of 2025, and that he never had any questions about the coach’s future with the team.
‘The relationship between the coach and the team, the cohesion between them, is an internal, professional affair. Only Marco Rossi and the players are qualified to speak competently on this matter. However, I too spend a lot of time with them, and I have never experienced anything that would suggest there is any tension between them,’ the Chairman stated.
The Hungarian national team will be facing Germany again next, on 7 September in League A of the 2024–2025 UEFA Nations League season.
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