Marco Rossi says the Hungarian team was cautious, precise, and smart

The head coach of the Hungarian national team, Marco Rossi, took his seat in the press conference room with pleasure.

"Poland played powerfully. They controlled the game while we were very cautious, precise and smart, and as always, very motivated. These guys who make up our team are proud to represent the Hungarian national team. On this night, we managed to get a great result thanks to playing well. We wouldn't have been able to earn points either in Warsaw or at Wembley without great dedication.Poland needed the three points today. We have to keep going, but let's also be modest and respect everyone else."

Marco Rossi then pointed out he doesn't have an easy time with the Bundesliga clubs either, just like in Lewandowski's case.

"Without Lewandowski, Poland didn't have the superiority. A lot of times, I can't include certain players either, and that's because the German clubs are demanding them. It must be respected what is in the interests of the other. I think Bayern could have put pressure on Poland to keep Robert out of the game. In my case, that's also happened before. There were similar requests for me, too. For the sake of German clubs, I would like to say that every match is important – even if it doesn't matter if he qualifies for the World Cup or not!"

Marco Rossi feels the national team's results during the qualifiers ended up being strange.

"I didn't expect before the qualifiers that we could win in Warsaw, but I was hoping we'd get three or four points against Albania. Albania is a strong team because their footballers play in good leagues. But I didn't think we'd lose to them. To this day, I have remorse due to this mistake. And because of that, we can't be entirely satisfied with our performance in the qualifying series."

The coach then talked about the garnish at the match.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I had a scarf on my bench with Polish symbols on one side and Hungarian symbols on the other. It's in the spirit of friendship between the nations. I got this from our fans.It would be fantastic if there were that atmosphere in every game. It was a sensation when the Poles applauded our anthem! It's helping the sport so much. It was amazing! I would like to thank all the Polish fans very much for this wonderful feeling."

Paulo Sousa followed the Hungarian head coach in the room. Questions poured in for the trainer, whom the local press vituperated.

"It's become a little bit more difficult for us with the playoffs after today's results. I'm not a coach who's afraid to make decisions. I still feel that today's match was an opportunity for us to move forward, even in Lewandowski's and Krychowiak's absence.The plan was to give those players an opportunity who have not played a lot so far, so that they can be prepared for the high quality of international matches. Of course, I was badly affected and even surprised by today's result. I also think that not everyone was in the best shape," said the head coach who struggled to convince Polish journalists who had questioned him whether leaving Lewandowski out was a good idea. Many even questioned whether it was even important for the Portuguese coach to have his team seeded in the playoffs.

"Of course, being seeded was important to me!” Sousa defended himself. "The thing is that we need to prepare the players now to deal with the pressure that awaits them. They didn't understand each other well enough on the pitch and they need to improve in that."

The head coach stressed that he was confident of his team's World Cup qualification.

"Whatever happens at the playoffs, we believe we will advance and be there in Qatar!"he said.

Sousa was then asked what he thought of his colleague Marco Rossi's view that clubs were putting pressure on national teams to rest their players.

"It's not that the club made the decision. I'm the coach! It's not the club's decision!" he said.

Even after nearly half an hour, many journalists raised their hands during the increasingly tense press conference, but then Sousa and the Polish press secretary thanked them for the questions and left.

Translated by Vanda Orosz

EUROPEAN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
ROUND 10
GROUP I
Poland–Hungary 1–2 (0–1)
Warsaw,Stadion Narodowy,56 197spectators.Referee:Tiago Martins (Portugal)
POLAND:Szczesny – Dawidowicz, Kedziora, J. Bednarek, Puchacz (Placheta, 83.) – Cash (Józwiak, a szünetben), Linetty (P. Frankowski, 65.), Klich, Moder (Zielinski, halftime) – Swiderski, Piatek (Milik, 65.).Head coach:Paulo Sousa
HUNGARY:Dibusz – Fiola, Lang, A. Szalai – Négo, Á. Nagy (Vécsei, 90.), Schäfer, Zs. Nagy – K. Varga (Gazdag, 58.), Á. Szalai (J. Hahn, 89.), Schön (T. Kiss, 72.).Head coach:Marco Rossi
Goalscorers:Swiderski (61.), and Schäfer (37.), Gazdag (79.)

READ MORE ABOUT THE MATCH HERE!

Other matches in the group
San Marino–England 0–10(Maguire 6., F. Fabbri 15. – own goal, H. Kane 27. – penalty, 32., 39. – penalty, 42., Smith-Rowe 58., Mings 69., Abraham 78., Saka 80.)
Albania–Andorra 1–0(Cekici 73. – penalty)