According to Pál Dárdai, they have a chance to make it to the World Championship.

According to Pál Dárdai, the former national team captain, the Hungarian national football team has a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

"If there are no injuries, then with this team, in this stadium, the home games can be played, and we will scratch the rest. I think there is a chance, but let's not put pressure on anyone," he said on Wednesday at the Sport Forum Hungary 2024 conference.

As Dárdai marketed, thanks to the change in the rules, the national team qualified for three European Championships in a row. He considers this to be a very good thing and emphasized that the national team fully deserved to qualify, and although "the loop is a little tighter than the World Cup, there are already ways to go," he said.

According to the former captain, we should be very happy with the fan culture that the Hungarians have developed, since in the Puskás Arena

"there is no evil, there is only love, and the extra points come from this power".

He added that there are quite a few very good footballers, there are quite a few hard-working footballers, there are quite a few young talents in the squad, as well as an experienced coach and his professional staff.

If everyone does their part, we can get out, he thought.

In addition to Dárdai, the renewed professional committee of the Hungarian Federation (MLSZ) in the fall of 2018 included, for example, Sándor Egervári, Imre Gellei, Zsolt Lőw, Tamás Hajnal, Imre Szabics and Zoltán Gera. According to the wording of the website of the MLSZ at the time, the purpose of the board was to effectively support the strategic decisions of the presidency with its opinion and professional background work. Analyze the processes and experiences of Hungarian football and thereby prepare managerial decision-making. The intention of the MLSZ presidency was that, thanks to the operation of the committee, in the spirit of professional renewal, the professional base of football, the practical and theoretical preparation of the coaches would develop by 2020, and the generational change of the management of the sport would be realized, and the professional, cultural and moral environment defining football would be renewed. .

"I think we've made a lot of progress, but there's still a lot left to do, and they have to be done, and then there will be a future here," said Dárdai in relation to the goals set six years ago. At the same time, he highlighted that it is a country of approximately 10 million, compared to Germany, which has approximately 80 million, where "there are eight Szoboszlai in one age group, and here we have one".

"If you compete the eight Szoboszlai, it becomes Wirtz and Musiala. And here we are happy that we have a Szoboszlan. So let's hope, let's love them, but you can't get the same thing out of such a small amount," he explained.

He added that the French example was discussed at the Sport Forum Hungary 2024 conference, which is "very nice and good, only they are different sizes, different speed". In his view, the Hungarians should rather follow the Spanish direction.

"We can play football, but we are small, we are not that fast, but our brains are sharp.

Our football culture used to live off the fact that the players were well combined. This needs to be strengthened, because there is still a deficit in this, and there is still a lot of progress to be made in this regard. If we include schools, teachers, families, and so on, then we will have three Szoboszlans in each age group, and then maybe one of the three will be a Musiala," he declared.

MTI

Cover photo: Dominik Szoboszlai (j)'s goal joy in the match between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary played in the 3rd group of the Football Nations League Division A
Source: MTI/Tibor Illyés