Hungary national football team

History

Although Austria and Hungary were constituent countries of the dual monarchy known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they formed separate football associations and teams around the start of the 20th century.

1910s

The national side first appeared at the Summer Olympic Games in 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden. The team had to ask for donations in order to be able to go to the games. Hungary lost 7–0 to England and thus were eliminated. After the Olympic Games Hungary played two matches against Russia in Moscow. The first match was won 9–0 and the second 12–0, which is still a record for the national side. The top scorer of the two matches was Imre Schlosser who scored seven goals. The beginning of World War I had a deep impact on the thriving Hungarian football. Both the country and the clubs were suffering financial problems. During World War I Hungary played Austria 16 times. In 1919 England claimed the exclusion of the Central Powers (including Hungary) from FIFA. When FIFA refused England's plea, the British (English, Scottish, and Welsh) and Irish associations decided to resign from FIFA.

1920s

Budapest was denied the opportunity to host the 1920 Summer Olympics, which were held in Belgium. The countries of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) were excluded from the Olympics. During this period the Fogl brothers (József and Károly Fogl) played in the national team. The formation the Hungarians used was 2–3–5 which was unique at that time. The national team played at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In the first match Hungary beat Poland but in the second round they lost to Egypt. As a consequence, both the head coach and the head of the Hungarian Football Federation resigned.

Between 1927 and 1930, Hungary participated in the Europa Cup, which is considered to be the first international tournament, with Austria, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Russia, and Yugoslavia. In the final, Hungary lost to Russia. On 12 June 1927, Hungary beat France by 13–1, which is still a record. József Takács scored six goals.

1930s

The first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, but Hungary were not invited and did not take part in the tournament; there were no qualification matches. Hungary first appeared in the 1934 World Cup in Italy. Hungary's first World Cup match was against Egypt on 27 May 1934, a 4–2 win. The goals were scored by Pál Teleki, Géza Toldi (2) and Jenő Vincze. In the quarter-finals, Hungary faced neighbouring arch-rivals Austria but lost 2–1, the only Hungarian goal coming from György Sárosi.

Hungary entered the 1936 Olympics, where in the first round they were eliminated by Poland, 0–3.

The 1938 World Cup was held in France. The first match was played against Dutch East Indies and Hungary won 6–0. Sárosi and Gyula Zsengellér each scored twice while Vilmos Kohut and Toldi scored one goal each. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat Switzerland 2–0 with goals by Sárosi and Zsengellér. In the semi-final at the Parc des Princes, Paris, Hungary beat Sweden 5–1 with goals by Ferenc Sas and Sárosi and a hat-trick by Zsengellér. In the final, Hungary faced Italy at the Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris, but lost 4–2. The Hungarian goals were scored by Pál Titkos and Sárosi.

1950s

This Hungarian team was best known as one of the most formidable and influential sides in football history, which revolutionised the play of the game. Centred around the dynamic and potent quartet of strikers Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, attacking half-back József Bozsik and withdrawn striker Nándor Hidegkuti, the Aranycsapat ("Golden Team") of the "Magnificent Magyars" captivated the football world with an exciting brand of play with innovative tactical nuances. Excluding the 1954 World Cup Final, they achieved a remarkable record of 43 victories, 6 draws, and 0 defeats from 14 May 1950 until they lost 3–1 to Turkey on 19 February 1956.

In the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Hungary beat Romania 2–1 with a goal each from Czibor and Kocsis in the preliminary round. In the first round Hungary beat Italy 3–0; in the quarter-finals Hungary beat Turkey 7–; and in the semi-finals Hungary faced Sweden, the 1948 Olympics champions and won 6–0. In the final, Hungary beat Yugoslavia 2–0 with a goal each from Puskás and Czibor and thus won the Olympic title for the first time.

On 25 November 1953, England played Hungary at Wembley Stadium, London in a match later dubbed as "the match of the century". The English team were unbeaten for 90 years at home. In front of 105,000 spectators Nándor Hidegkuti scored the first Hungarian goal in the first minute. At half-time the score was 4–2 to Hungary. The Hungarian goals were scored by Nándor Hidegkúti (1st, 22nd) and Ferenc Puskás (25th, 29th). In the second half the Hungarians scored twice more (Hidegkúti and József Bozsik). The final score was 6–3.

On 23 May 1954, the Hungarian national team beat England 7–1 (which remains their worst defeat to date) at the Puskás Ferenc Stadium. At that time in Hungary there was a saying about the match: Az angolok egy hétre jöttek és 7:1-re mentek, or in English: "The English came for one week (seven days) and went home with 7:1."

The 1954 World Cup was held in Switzerland. The first match was played against South Korea and Hungary won by 9–0 at the Hardturm, Zürich. In the second group match, Hungary played against West Germany and won by 8–3 at St. Jakob Stadium, Basel. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat Brazil 4–2 at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern. In the semi-finals, Hungary played with the two-times World Cup winner Uruguay in Lausanne; Hungary won by 4–2 after extra time. In the final, Hungary faced with West Germany again. Although Hungary won the group match against the Germans, they lost 3–2 in the final in Bern at the Wankdorf Stadium. The Golden Team, built around the legendary Ferenc Puskás, led early 2–0, but ended up 2–3 in a game the West Germans subsequently christened "The Miracle of Bern".

In 2010, journalist Erik Eggers speculates in a study that the German team may have used drugs to beat the Hungarian team, who were considered "invincible" at that time.

Although Hungary qualified as the defending champions for the 1956 Olympics, they did not enter the tournament.

Hungary qualified for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Hungary played their first match against Wales at the Jarnvallen stadium in Sandviken and the final result was 1–1. The second group match was played against the host country, Sweden, where Hungary lost 2–1 at the Råsunda Stadium, Solna. Although Hungary won their last group match against Mexico at the Jarnvallen stadium in Sandvinken, they were eliminated from the World Cup after losing a play-off to Wales, who they had drawn level with on points. The Welsh had drawn all their group matches and then beat the once-mighty Hungarians in a play-off match to decide which nation should follow Sweden into the knock-out stage. Had goal difference been the decider, Hungary would have gone through, as the Hungarians had a goal tally of 6–3 compared to 2–2 for Wales. As it was, Wales instead met Brazil in the quarter-finals and were the recipient of young Pelé's first World Cup goal.

1960s

In 1960, Hungary again entered the Olympics held in Italy and was drawn into Group D with France, Peru and India. Hungary finished top of the group with all wins and a goal difference of +12. In the semi-finals, they lost to Denmark 0 – 2, but beat Italy in the Bronze medal match 2 – 1 thanks to a goal each from Orosz and Dunai.

Hungary qualified for the 1962 World Cup, held in Chile. On 31 May 1962, in the first group match, Hungary beat England by 2–1 thanks to the goals of Lajos Tichy and Flórián Albert at El Teniente stadium in Rancagua in front of 7,938 spectators. The second match on 3 June 1962 was even more convincing against Bulgaria; the match was won 6–1 in Rancagua. The last group match was against Argentina on 6 June 1962 and the final result was a goalless draw in front of 7,945 spectators in Rancagua. Hungary qualified for the quarter-finals by gaining five points and winning the group. In the quarter-finals, however, Hungary was eliminated by Czechoslovakia by 1–0 at El Teniente in front of 11,690 spectators.

In 1964, Hungary again qualified for the 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo and was drawn into Group B with defending champions Yugoslavia, Morocco and North Korea, the latter withdrawing. In their first match against Morocco, Hungary won 6 – 0 with all six goals scored by Ferenc Bene. In their second match, Hungary won narrowly (6–5) against Yugoslavia and advanced into the next round along with runners-up Yugoslavia. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat Romania 2 – 0 with goals from Csernai. In the semi-finals, Hungary beat United Arab Republic (Egypt) 6 – 0 with four goals from Bene and two from Komora. In the finals, Hungary beat Czechoslovakia 2 – 1 thanks from an own goal by Weiss and a goal by Bene, thus won their second gold medal.

Hungary qualified for the 1964 European Nations' Cup which was organised in Spain. Hungary played against Spain in the semi-finals of the tournament. The final result was 2–1 after extra time. The only Hungarian goal was scored by Ferenc Bene. In the third place play-off Hungary beat Denmark 3–1 after extra time. Dezső Novák scored twice in the extra time.

Hungary also managed to qualify for the 1966 World Cup which was held in the home of football, England. On 13 July 1966, Hungary lost their first group match against Eusébio's Portugal (3–1) at Old Trafford, Manchester. Two days later, in the second group match Hungary beat Brazil thanks to the goals of Ferenc Bene, János Farkas and Kálmán Mészöly at Goodison Park, Liverpool. In the last round of the group matches, on 20 July 1966, Hungary beat Bulgaria 3–1. The goals were scored by Mészöly and Bene. Hungary finished second in the group and qualified for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Hungary were eliminated by the Soviet Union on 23 July 1966 by 2–1 at the Roker Park in Sunderland in front of 26,844 spectators.

In 1968 Olympics, Hungary qualified as defending champions to defend their title and was drawn into Group C with Israel, Ghana and El Salvador. Hungary finished top and advanced into the next round with Israel. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat Guatemala narrowly with 1 – 0 from a goal by Szűcs. In the semi-finals they beat Japan 5 – 0 thanks to Szűcs with three goals and two from Novák. In the finals, they beat Bulgaria 4 – 1 and won their third title, being the most successful team at the Olympics in football (Great Britain also won three titles but their first title is in 1904, and football only became an official event in 1908).

Flórián Albert was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. He was the most successful footballer of Ferencváros since the formation of the club, scoring 255 goals in 351 matches from 1958 to 1974.

1970s

Hungary came back again as long-time defending champions in the 1972 Olympics in Munich and was drawn into Group C with Denmark, Iran and Brazil. They finished top and advanced into the next round with Denmark. In their second group round, they were drawn into Group 1 with East Germany, West Germany and Mexico. They again finished top undefeated and advanced into the finals with East Germany. In the finals, they faced Poland and lost 1 – 2. The only Hungarian goal was scored by Varady.

Hungary qualified for the finals of the UEFA Euro 1972 which was held in Belgium. In the semi-finals, Hungary faced the Soviet Union and lost 1–0. In the third place play-off, Hungary lost to Belgium 2–1. The only Hungarian goal was scored by Lajos Kű. Hungary finished fourth in at the Euro.

Hungary participated in the 1978 World Cup which was held in Argentina. On 2 June 1978 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Hungary played with Argentina. Although Károly Csapó scored an early goal, the home side won the match by 2–1. Hungary played their second group match against Italy and the Azzurri won by 3–1. Hungary's third match was played against Michel Platini's France and Hungary lost 3–1 which resulted the farewell of the national side.

1980s

During the 1980s, Hungary qualified for the World Cup twice. The first group match of the 1982 tournament in Spain was played against El Salvador, where Hungary won 10–1 at Estadio Nuevo, Elche. The goals were scored by Tibor Nyilasi (2), Gábor Pölöskei, László Fazekas (2), József Tóth, László Kiss (3) and Lázár Szentes. In spite of the big victory, Hungary lost to 4–1 to Diego Maradona's Argentina in the second match of the group stages. Maradona scored twice, while the only Hungarian goal was scored by Pölöskei at the Estadio José Rico Pérez in Alicante. Although Hungary drew in the last match against Belgium, they were eliminated from the World Cup. Hungary, however, had been leading in the first half thanks to a goal by József Varga.
Hungary's last World Cup appearance was the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In the first match of the group Hungary lost 6–0 to the Soviet Union. Football experts date the crisis of the Hungarian football from this match. Although Hungary won their second match against Canada 2–0 (the goals were scored by Márton Esterházy and Lajos Détári), they lost to Michel Platini's France 3–0 in the last group match. This has been the last World Cup appearance of the Hungarian national team.

1990s

During the 1990s, Hungary were not able to qualify for any international tournaments save for the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta. The 1980s were considered as the most bitter years of the Hungarian football, but the 1990s proved to be the worst. In 1996, Hungary reached its lowest FIFA World Raking, 87th. The fall of the Hungarian Communist regime caused financial problems to many Hungarian clubs. Formerly successful clubs like Ferencváros and Újpest faced financial crisis and bankruptcy. This had a profound effect on the Hungarian national team as well since earlier the biggest clubs from Budapest (Ferencváros, Újpest, Honvéd and MTK) produced the players for the national side. Another important reason for the decline can be attributed to the Bosman ruling. Since the Hungarian clubs lost the financial aid from the state in the early 1990s, they were not able to compete with the richer Western European clubs. The crisis in the Hungarian club football affected the performance of the national team.

Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás was appointed as the head coach of the national side in 1993 in order to bring back earlier success. He led the team for only four matches, however, as the former Honvéd and Real Madrid star failed to make an impact. The only remarkable success in the 1990s was the qualification of Hungary to the 1996 Summer Olympics. Antal Dunai's team played its first group match against Nigeria and lost to 1–0 in Orlando. In the second group match, Hungary played Brazil and lost to 3–1. The only Hungarian goal was scored by Csaba Madar. The last group match was played against Japan, a 3–2 loss. The Hungarian goals were scored by Csaba Madar and Tamás Sándor. Although the Olympic qualification of the young team was a big surprise and people thought that Hungary would have a better future in football history, the team never reached any similar success later.
In the 1990s, Hungary were the closest to qualify for the 1998 World Cup but were eliminated in the play-offs by FR Yugoslavia.

2000s

Hungary were unable to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2000, 2004, 2008 and for FIFA World Cup 2002, 2006 and 2010. Moreover, during the Euro 2008 qualification, Hungary finished sixth in their group, reaching their nadir in their football history. They even lost to minnows Malta which resulted the resignation of Péter Bozsik. Several days later, Péter Várhidi was appointed who was famous for his appearances in the Sport 1, Hungarian sport television, and analysing the Italian Serie A clubs. He proved his talent by beating the 2006 World Champions Italy 3–1 at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium in a friendly tie. Neither Bozsik nor Várhidi, however, could do well in the official matches, which resulted in their removal. The Hungarian Football Federation even tried out foreign coaches: both Lothar Matthäus and Erwin Koeman failed to qualify for any tournaments.

2010s

The Hungary national under-20 team head coach Sándor Egervári was appointed as head coach for the senior side ahead of Euro 2012 qualifying in which Hungary were drawn against Finland, Moldova, the Netherlands, San Marino and Sweden. Hungary won six, drew one and lost three games as they finished the group in third place with 19 points. During the qualification process, in September 2011 Hungary reached 27th in the FIFA World Ranking, their highest position to date. At the end of the year, the national team played Liechtenstein as a commemoration of the recently deceased Flórián Albert, the only Hungarian football player to win the Ballon d'Or.

Hungary were drawn in Group D in their 2014 World Cup qualifying, along with the Netherlands, Turkey, Romania, Estonia and Andorra. They amassed 14 points entering the penultimate round of games, but suffered a joint national record defeat 8–1 to the Netherlands, which resulted in the resignation of head coach Sándor Egervári. For their final group game, a 2–0 win against Andorra, Hungary were led by caretaker manager József Csábi. They finished in third place in the group, on 17 points, missing out on qualification. After the match, striker Ádám Szalai gave a press conference delivering a poignant scathing monologue about his perception of "continuously lying to our supporters" when it came to suggesting that the team had a chance against current leading teams of the world. Similar sentiments have been expressed before by midfielder Szabolcs Huszti. During this period, a film crew began filming the team during both their preparations and matches; the film, Még 50 perc was eventually released in 2016 just before Euro 2016.

Attila Pintér was appointed as head coach of the national team in December 2013. Some had seen this decision as controversial, given Pintér's low popularity with fans and players alike. The team played their first game at the newly constructed Groupama Arena on 7 September 2014, a 2–1 defeat to Northern Ireland in Euro 2016 qualifying. Pintér was subsequently dismissed, with Pál Dárdai appointed as a temporary replacement for three matches. He turned down an offer to manage the team on a permanent basis, but was kept on. Subsequently, Dardai was at Hertha BSC, where he had been passing youth coach, was promoted to manager of the first team, but he remained still coach. In the summer of 2015, he resigned as coach of the Hungarian national team to devote himself to his work as Hertha manager. He was eventually replaced by the German sports director of the Hungarian Football Association, Bernd Storck, in July 2015. Storck exercised incidentally continue from the post of Sports Director of the Association.

On 15 November 2015, a Storck-led Hungary qualified for its first European Championship (Euro 2016) after 44 years, when Hungary was qualified for the 1972 tournament. Hungary beat Norway in the first leg of the qualifying playoffs 1–0; the only goal was scored by László Kleinheisler. On the return match, Hungary beat Norway 2–1 and qualified for the Euro 2016 finals. After beating Austria 2–0 and drawing with Iceland, Hungary played an exciting 3–3 draw against eventual Euro winners Portugal. Hereupon, Hungary managed to qualify for the round of 16 with a game to spare, marking their best Euro or World Cup performance in over 40 years.

Rivalry

Hungary has a long-standing rivalry with its neighbours Romania. The rivalry between the two nations dates back from the Treaty of Trianon, where Hungary lost Transylvania in favour of Romania, after World War I. Every time the two sides met, they threw flares and matches between the two sides usually end in a fight between Hungarian and Romanian supporters, however, recently also before the matches conflicts have emerged outside the stadium. These was seen as they shared the same group in 2014 World Cup qualifying and UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.

The match-up between Austria and Hungary is the second most-played international in football (only Argentina–Uruguay met each other in more matches), although the two teams have only met each other three times since 2000.

Supporters

Carpathian Brigade is an official supporters' group for the Hungary national football team. The first organized debut of this group was at a Hungary vs. Malta 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match on April 1, 2009 at Ferenc Puskás Stadium. Heavy support for the Hungarian national team also comes from Transylvania, Slovakia, Vojvodina, Zakarpattia and Western Europe.

Home stadium

The home stadium of the Hungarian national side is the Ferenc Puskás Stadium (also called the Népstadion). The stadium was built between 1948 and 1953 using a large number of volunteers, including soldiers. The stadium was opened in 1953. On 23 May 1954, England lost to 7–1 against the Hungarian national team. The capacity of the stadium is 35,100 (approved by the UEFA) though its original capacity exceeded the 100,000. The stadium also hosted one of the Derbies of Budapest, including Ferencváros, Újpest, MTK, Honvéd or Vasas. The stadium is going to be demolished after the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Finland in order to replace the old Ferenc Puskás stadium with a new multi-purpose stadium.

On 29 May 1974, Hungary host Yugoslavia at the Stadion Sóstói in Székesfehérvár in front of 16,000 spectators. The final result was 3–2 to Hungary.

On 25 April 2004, Hungary host Japan at the ZTE Arena in front of 7,000 spectators. This was the first national team match in Zalaegerszeg. The final result was 3–2 to Hungary. In the 53rd minute Attila Kuttor scored for Hungary. In the 67th minute Roland Juhász scored and Hungary was winning by 2–0, but in the 75th and 77th minutes Japan equalised. In the last minute, Szabolcs Huszti scored a penalty kick and Hungary won the match by 3–2.

On 1 May 2014, Debrecen's Nagyerdei Stadion was opened. On 22 May 2014, the first match of the Hungarian national football team was played at the stadium in front of 20,000 spectators which ended with a 2–2 draw against Denmark. The first goal was scored by the former Debrecen legend Balázs Dzsudzsák. Christian Eriksen equalised the score in the 56th minute, but the debutant Varga gave Hungary the lead in the 69th minute, though the score was then equalised by Lasse Schöne in the 72nd minute.

On 10 August 2014, Ferencváros' Groupama Arena was opened which will host the Euro 2016 qualifying matches.

Colours and kits

Hungary's traditional home colurs are red shirts, white shorts and green socks. The combination of the colours represent the Hungarian flag. However, the team sometimes wears all white kit even at home. The coat of arms are worn on the left side of the shirt, where the human heart can be found. When the Hungarian players listen to the national anthem of Hungary, "Himnusz", they put their arms on to their chest. The national anthem is considered beautiful by Hungarians but many football fans criticize it because of its melancholy which can have an effect on the players. The actual coat of arms could have always been found on the shirt of the national team in contrast with many other national teams which wear the logo of the football federation. Adidas is currently the designer of the Hungary kits.

Current squad

The following 29 players are in the official squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Portugal on 25 March 2017.
Caps and goals up to 15 November 2016 after the match against Sweden.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been selected by Hungary in the past 12 months.

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^PRE Preliminary squad.
^RET Retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended for the next match.

FIFA World Cup

     Champions       Runners-up       Third Place       Fourth Place  

UEFA European Championship

     Champions       Runners-up       Third Place       Fourth Place  

Summer Olympics

The first 3 Olympic football events were only unofficial tournaments, with a few nations represented by a club team. Starting from 1908, the Olympic football tournament became an official event, with representation of the official national football teams.

After the Olympics 1988, the football event was changed into a tournament, with participation only for the Under-23 national teams.

     Gold medal        Silver medal        Bronze medal  

International titles

Friendly titles

Records

The match between Austria and Hungary in Vienna in 1902 was the first international match played between two non-British European countries.

Hungary was the first team from outside the United Kingdom and Ireland to beat England at home, famously winning 6–3 at Wembley on 25 November 1953. Six months later they beat England 7–1 in 1954, this time in Budapest. This still ranks as England's record defeat.

The trainer responsible for gelling together the elements of the Hungarian side on the 1950s, Gusztáv Sebes holds the highest ratio of victories per game past 30 matches with 72.06% (49 wins, 12, draws, 7 defeats). Brazil great Vicente Feola (1955–1966) owns the second highest with 71.88% (46 wins, 12 draws, 6 defeats).

Hungary owns the records for quality in offensive throughput in a single World Cup finals competition. Football historians often relate to the 27 goals (5.4 gls / game) and a goal differential of +17 as records likely never to be passed in the more preventive modern game. Sándor Kocsis, along with his record 7 hat tricks in the international game, owns the single World Cup finals competition's record with 2.2 goals/match. In 1953, they also became Central European Champions

Hungary had the distinction of setting the then highest Elo football rating of 2166 in 1954, a record that stood for 60 years until it was bettered by Germany in the 2014 World Cup. It was set after Hungary's 4–2 victory over Uruguay in the 1954 World Cup semi-final on 30 June 1954, the final match in their 31-game unbeaten streak (see below). They also own the third highest rating of 2156, set in 1956. Brazil owns the fourth highest with 2153, and Spain with 2142 is the fifth.

Ferenc Puskás was recognized to be the top scorer of the 20th century, by the IFFHS.

Top international goalscorers of the 20th century

Two of the top six international goalscorers of the 20th century were Hungarian, both of them from the Golden Team of the 1950s.

Undefeated run

Hungary, with its master narrative of being undefeated in the 1950s also broke one of football's timeless benchmarks being first to eclipse an 1888 Scotland national football team record of being undefeated in 22 consecutive matches. They bettered the old mark by nine additional games to 31 (or 32 counting the match against East Germany, that is not considered an official international for that team). Hungary holds the third longest consecutive run of matches unbeaten with 31 international games between 14 May 1950 and 4 July 1954, when they lost the World Cup final to Germany.

Spain and Brazil hold the longest string of 35 unbeaten matches.

* = not official

All-time team record

The following table shows Hungary's all-time international record, correct as of 9 October 2016.

FIFA ranking

Last updated 14 January 2017