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Hungary head coach Marco Rossi has said he is not tempted to repeat Arne Slot’s trick of deploying Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
Due to the injury issues of Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, Szoboszlai has been deployed in a full-back role during Liverpool’s last two Premier League games, against Newcastle and Arsenal.
The Hungarian captain has performed admirably in both, making important defensive contributions, surging forward from a deeper role and helping the team build possession from the back. Szoboszlai also netted the winning goal with a sublime free-kick against Arsenal, which was nominated for the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award.
The 24-year-old is among the candidates for August’s Player of the Month award, underlining his impressive start to the new season.
But Rossi feels given Szoboszlai’s offensive contributions, he cannot afford to remove the Liverpool star from a midfield role.
Asked whether Szoboszlai could operate at right-back, Rossi replied: “I don’t think so, to be honest.
“We will employ him – I do not like this word 'use'. You cannot 'use' persons. We will employ him in the position which is more comfortable for him and more useful for us.”
Hungary and Ireland could begin their World Cup qualification campaigns on Saturday, with the pair likely to battle it out for a playoff spot behind Portugal. So Saturday’s showdown in Dublin could prove hugely consequential.
“In our group, Portugal are on another level, even if we will try our best in every match that we will play,” admitted Rossi.
“But of course looking at the second place, I think that the fight could be between us and Ireland.
“I am expecting a match that tomorrow will be balanced and will be probably decided by episodes and we have to do everything in order to to bring these episodes on our side.”
There will also be a Liverpool reunion at the Avia Stadium, with Szoboszlai set to face Caoimhin Kelleher, who departed the Reds over the summer.
“I know him quite well from Liverpool and one of his biggest threats is his shooting ability, so for sure I think we need to limit that on Saturday,” said the Ireland keeper earlier this week. “He’s a really good guy, a good player and one we need to be aware of.”
On that remarkable goal against Arsenal last weekend, Kelleher added: “I think it was probably a nearly perfect free-kick.
“The way he strikes the ball, he puts a lot of different movement on the football. Maybe you don’t see it to the naked eye, but certainly as a goalkeeper you can see it.”
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