This is the match I was most looking forward to – András Schäfer

– Was the yellow card rightful?
– No! – András Schäfer responded quickly to our question. – What I felt on the pitch, I was convinced by looking back at the ominous scene: not only did I not deserve a yellow card, but I also did not even foul against Nicolo Barella. It annoys me that the referee judged it differently, but that's the way it is, I can't do anything about it. It is difficult for me to get over it because all I wanted was to play against Germany in front of sixty-seven thousand fans at the Puskás Aréna. Worst of all, I'm forced into the stands not because of my own fault. Let's not talk about it anymore!

– Alright, let's go back to the clash in Cesena, after which Marco Rossi said that defeat is acceptable. Do you agree with the head coach?
– Years ago, most probably a lot of people would have been satisfied in advance that the Hungarian national team would lose only by one goal in Italy. How much we've improved since then shows that we can now be annoyed by Tuesday's defeat. I feel like I missed something during the match because the Italians won 2-1 due to us playing badly – especially in the first half. If we had played better football, we would have had a better chance of earning points. However, Marco Rossi is right that we need to know our place. Even though we have made good progress lately, we must stay down to earth. We are aware of the reality that Italy is stronger than us, we cannot be expected to beat them on their home field. Even if we go out to every game and want to win them. Unfortunately, we did not succeed in Cesena, but in the days ahead, we have two chances to improve; we can prove against Germany and England that we have made progress.

– If someone had told you before the start of the series that you would be somewhat annoyed that you had "only" three points after two rounds, what would you have said?
– After the way we played at the European Championships, I wouldn't have disagreed with the statement. What we did last summer gave us enough confidence, gave us a reason to weave bolder dreams than ever before. At this point, however, I have to say again that we should see ourselves realistically: defeating England was also a miracle.

– Would defeating Germany be it as well?
– Yes, but as the head coach cannot count on me, there's less chance... Joking aside, I think Germany is the most organized and prepared of our three opponents in the group, and I think we will have the most difficult job against them. The statistics of their last two games, the percentage of ball possession, the number of opportunities also testify that Germany is in excellent form. There is no doubt that we are facing a very tough match, but at the aforementioned European Championship in Munich, we showed that anything can happen, we can draw faith from what happened there. In addition, this match will be held in Budapest, the full house of audience will support us. If we are as disciplined and will follow the tactical instructions in the same way that we did against England, we can achieve another good result.

– Were people in Germany looking for you?
– Journalists no, but my teammates in Berlin sent me messages. They said they are sorry I can't play on Saturday – it's only me who's more disappointed than they are. To be honest, this is the game I was most looking forward to in the Nations League... But I really don't want to dwell on it anymore. I have to accept that I can take a seat in the auditorium this time. Meanwhile, I have to prepare to perform my best in Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

– I wanted to say to let's look on the bright side: you can definitely play against England.
– And I'll be even more fit! I have two exhausting games behind me. If we want to look for good things in the bad at all costs, we can conclude that my state of strength doesn't mind missing the match against Germany. Although I could have scraped myself together for Saturday as well.ú

NATIONS LEAGUE
LEAGUE
GROUP 3
ROUND 1
June 4, Saturday
HUNGARY-England 1-0
Italy-Germany 1-1

ROUND 2
June 7, Tuesday
Italy-HUNGARY 2-1
Germany-England 1-1

ROUND 3
June 11, Saturday
8.45 pm: HUNGARY-Germany
8.45 pm: England-Italy

ROUND 4
June 14, Tuesday
8.45 pm: England-HUNGARY
8.45 pm: Germany-Italy

ROUND 5
September 23, Friday
8.45 pm: Germany-HUNGARY
8.45 pm: Italy-England

ROUND 6
September 26, Monday
8.45 pm: HUNGARY-Italy
8.45 pm: England-Germany

THE HUNGARIAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Dénes Dibusz (Ferencváros), Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig – Germany), Péter Szappanos (Budapest Honvéd)
Defenders: Bendegúz Bolla (Grasshoppers – Switzerland), Attila Fiola (Mol Fehérvár FC), Ákos Kecskés (FK Nizhny Novgorod – Russia), Milos Kerkez (AZ Alkmaar – The Netherlands), Ádám Lang (Omonia Nicosia – Cyprus), Zsolt Nagy (Puskás Akadémia FC), Willi Orbán (RB Leipzig – Germany), Csaba Spandler (Puskás Akadémia FC), Attila Szalai (Fenerbahçe – Turkey)
Midfielders: Péter Baráth (Debrecen VSC), Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union – United States), Ádám Nagy (Pisa - Italy), Loïc Négo (Mol Fehérvár FC), András Schäfer (Union Berlin – Germany), Callum Styles (Barnsley FC – England), Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig – Germany), Bálint Vécsei (Ferencváros)
Attackers: Martin Ádám (Paksi FC), Roland Sallai (SC Freiburg – Germany), Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City – United States), Szabolcs Schön (FC Dallas - United States), Ádám Szalai (FC Basel – Switzerland), Zalán Vancsa (MTK Budapest)

Translated by Vanda Orosz