The Hungary national football team ( hu, magyar labdarúgó-válogatott) represents

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in men's international football and is controlled by the

Hungarian Football Federation The Hungarian Football Federation ( hu, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, MLSZ) is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest. Honours ;National Team * Worl ...

. The team has made 9 appearances in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

and 4 appearances in the European Championship, and plays its home matches at the

Puskás Aréna Puskás Aréna is a football stadium in the 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. The stadium's construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019. It is an all-seater with a capacity of 67,215. The Hungarian Football Fe ...

, which opened in November 2019. Hungary has a respectable football history, having won 3

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

titles, finishing runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 World Cups, and third in the

1964 UEFA European Football Championship The 1964 European Nations' Cup was the second edition of the UEFA European Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over the defending champions, the Soviet Union. The tournament was a knockout compe ...

. Hungary revolutionized the sport in the 1950s, laying the tactical fundamentals of Total Football and dominating international football with the remarkable

Golden Team The Golden Team ( hu, Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with seve ...

which included legend Ferenc Puskás, one of the top goalscorers of the 20th century, to whom FIFA dedicated its newest award, the Puskás Award. The side of that era has the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2230 in 1954, and one of the longest undefeated runs in football history, remaining unbeaten in 31 games, spanning over four years including the much heralded Match of the Century. The Hungarian team faced a severe drought starting from their elimination at the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

, failing to qualify to a major tournament for 30 years and reaching their lowest

FIFA ranking The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...

(87) in 1996, as well as finishing 6th in their group of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, before qualifying to back-to-back Euros in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, as well as getting promotion to the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A.

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.

Early years

1910s

Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics - Hungary squad

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and thus were eliminated. After the Olympic Games Hungary played two matches against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. 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 Imre Schlosser (also known as Imre Schlosser-Lakatos; 11 October 1889 – 18 July 1959) was a Hungarian footballer of Danube Swabian ancestry who played as a forward. He still holds the record as the highest goalscorer in the history of the H ...

who scored seven goals. The beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

had a deep impact on the thriving Hungarian football. Both the country and the clubs were suffering financial problems. During

Hungary played

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

16 times. In 1919 England claimed the exclusion of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

(including Hungary) from FIFA. When FIFA refused England's plea, the British (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Scottish,

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

) associations decided to resign from FIFA.

1920s

Budapest was denied the opportunity to host the 1920 Summer Olympics, which were held in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The countries of the

(Germany,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

) were excluded from the Olympics. The formation the Hungarians used was 2–3–5 which was unique at that time. During this period the Fogl brothers (

József József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Braun (also known as József Barna; 1901–1943), Hungarian Olympic footballer * József Cse ...

and

Károly Fogl Károly Fogl, also known as Károly Fogoly, "Károly Újpesti" and "Fogl II" (19 January 1895 – 12 January 1969) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Újpest FC, as well as representing the Hungary national football team at the 1924 Su ...

) played in the national team. Between 1921 and 1924, Béla Guttmann also played six times for the team. At the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Guttmann objected to the fact that there were more officials than players in the Hungary squad and that the hotel was more suitable for socialising than match preparation, and to demonstrate his disapproval he hung dead rats on the doors of the travelling officials. At the 1924 Summer Olympics, in the first match Hungary beat

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

but in the second round they lost to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. As a consequence, both the head coach and the head of the

resigned. Between 1927 and 1930, Hungary participated in the Central European International Cup which is considered to be the first international tournament, with

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and Switzerland. In the final, Hungary lost to Italy 0–5. On 12 June 1927, Hungary beat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

by 13–1, which is still a record. József Takács scored six goals.

Golden Era

1930s

The first

was held in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

, 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 The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...

. Hungary's first World Cup match was against

on 27 May 1934, a 4–2 win. The goals were scored by

Pál Teleki Count Pál János Ede Teleki de Szék (1 November 1879 – 3 April 1941) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 to 1921 and from 1939 to 1941. He was also an expert in geography, a un ...

Géza Toldi Géza Toldi (11 February 1909 – 16 August 1985) was a Hungarian footballer. He played for Ferencvárosi TC, and from 1934 to 1938 for the Hungarian national team, serving as captain in 1936. He scored a goal in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Club ...

(2) and

Jenő Vincze Jenő Vincze ''( sr, Eugen Vince)'' (20 November 1908 – 20 November 1988) was a Hungarian footballer and a legend of Újpest FC, most famous for playing for the Hungarian national team in the 1938 World Cup Final. Vincze started playing foo ...

. In the quarter-finals, Hungary faced neighbouring arch-rivals Austria but lost 2–1, the only Hungarian goal coming from

György Sárosi György Sárosi (; 5 August 1912 – 20 June 1993) was a Hungarian footballer. Sárosi was a complete footballer renowned for his versatility and technique among other things, and he played in several positions for Ferencváros and the Hungary ...

. Hungary entered the

1936 Olympics 1936 Olympics may refer to: *The 1936 Winter Olympics, which were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany *The 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin, Germany {{Short pages monitor ^INJ Injured player.
^PRE Preliminary squad.
^RET Retired from international football.
^SUS Suspended for the next match.
^WD Withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
^QUA Placed in quarantine after a contact with COVID-19.

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Hungary.

Most appearances

Most goals

Captains

Notable players

File:Sarosi Gyorgy.jpg,

was the team's captain when Hungary reached a World Cup final for the first time in 1938 File:Zsengeller-Gyula.jpg,

Gyula Zsengellér Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A legend of Újpest FC, he is most famous for his part in taking the Hungarian national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that ...

, joint top scorer for Hungary during the

1938 World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...

File:Baróti Lajos.jpg, Lajos Baróti played for the team from 1939 to 1941, and led Hungary during five international tournaments as the team's manager File:Szusza Ferenc.jpg, Ferenc Szusza scored 18 goals for the team between 1942 and 1956 File:Puskas (1971).tif, Ferenc Puskás played for Hungary between 1945 and 1956, he scored the most goals for the national team in the history File:Kocsis Sándor Fortepan 261526.jpg,

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary as a striker. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Pu ...

played for Hungary between 1948 and 1956 File:Grosics Gyula Fortepan 261531.jpg, Gyula Grosics was Hungary's

's goalkeeper File:Bozsik József Fortepan 261523.jpg,

József Bozsik József Bozsik (; 28 November 1925 – 31 May 1978) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent his entire club career at his hometown club, Budapest Honvéd. Bozsik was a key member of the legendary Golden Team as ...

, midfielder, member of the

, former most capped player of the national team from 1962 to 2019 File:Tichy Lajos Fortepan 261534.jpg,

Lajos Tichy Lajos Tichy (21 March 1935 – 6 January 1999), nicknamed "The Nation's Bomber", was a Hungarian footballer. He is the most prolific goalscorer in total matches in recorded history according to RSSSF with over 1912 goals scored in over 1301 m ...

"The Nation's Bomber", he is the most prolific goalscorer in total matches in recorded history with over 1912 goals scored in over 1301 matches File:Flórián Albert cropped.jpg, Flórián Albert scored 31 goals for the team and is Hungary's only 1967 Ballon d'Or, Ballon d'Or winner File:Kálmán Mészöly cropped.jpg,

Kálmán Mészöly Kálmán Mészöly (16 July 1941 – 21 November 2022) was a Hungarian professional football player and coach. He played his entire career at Vasas SC, where he operated as a centre-back. His nickname was "The Blond Rock". Mészöly played ...

former Hungarian Footballer of the Year, took part in three World Cups File:Dunai Antal 2011.jpg,

Antal Dunai Antal Dunai, also known as Dunai II (né ''Dujmov'', 21 March 1943) is a Hungarian former footballer with Yugoslav origins. He became a first division player at Pécsi Dózsa, but he spent the majority of his career at Újpesti Dózsa from ...

was Hungary's top scorer when the team won the gold medal at the Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968 Summer Olympics File:Mészöly Kálmán és Nyilasi Tibor Rfortepan 56048.jpg,

Tibor Nyilasi Tibor Nyilasi (born 18 January 1955) is a retired Hungarian football player and manager. He signed with Ferencváros in 1972 and played there until transferring to Austria Wien in 1983. He made 70 appearances for the Hungary national team from ...

(on the right), former 1983–84 UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup top scorer, was the team's captain during the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1982 World Cup File:Nagy Antal 2011.jpg, Antal Nagy (footballer, born 1956), Antal Nagy, defender, the team's captain during the

File:Détári Lajos 2011.jpg,

Lajos Détári Lajos László Détári (born 24 April 1963) is a Hungarian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. At the height of his career (1984–1994), he was a well-respected player throughout Europe, winning "Player of the Year" ...

, three time Hungarian League top goalscorer, he played in the

File:Pál Dárdai.jpg,

Pál Dárdai Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a Hungarian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and last coached Hertha BSC. In a 20-year professional career, he played for over a decade with the same club, Hertha BSC, in Ger ...

, former captain in 2006, as a manager he led Hungary to their return on the international stage in

after a 44-year absence File:Gabor Kiraly 1860 2009.JPG, Gábor Király is the most capped goalkeeper in the team's history, and the current joint record holder for most caps File:Zoltán Gera, footballer (2009).jpg, Zoltán Gera, midfielder, played for the team from 2002 to 2017 and during

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

UEFA European Championship

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

UEFA Nations League

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 medalists Silver medalists Bronze medalists

Team records

The match between

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

at home, famously England v Hungary (1953), winning 6–3 at Wembley Stadium (1924), Wembley on 25 November 1953. Six months later they beat England England v Hungary (1953)#Return fixture, 7–1 in 1954, this time in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. 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.

, 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 has the distinction of setting the highest World Football Elo Ratings, Elo football rating ever achieved by a national side, a high of 2230 in 1954. It was set after Hungary's 4–2 victory over Uruguay National Football Team, Uruguay in the 1954 World Cup semi-final on 30 June 1954, the final match in their 31-game unbeaten streak (see below). Germany national football team, Germany and

come in second (2223 in 2014) and third (2212 in 1928) respectively.

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

of 1962 owns the fourth highest with 2194, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

of 2010, with 2165, is the fifth. Ferenc Puskás was recognized to be the top scorer of the 20th century, by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, 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 West Germany.

hold the longest string of 37 unbeaten matches. * = not official

All-time team record

The following table shows Hungary's all-time international record, correct as of 20 November 2022.

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Hungary's all-time international record, correct as of 20 November 2022.

FIFA ranking

''Last updated 7 June 2022'' ;Notes *Note 1: from January 1999 the FIFA changed the system of the ranking calculation *Note 2: from July 2006 the FIFA changed the system of the ranking calculation *Note 3: from August 2018 the FIFA changed the system of the ranking calculation

Honours

International titles

** Runners-up (2): 1938, 1954 FIFA World Cup, 1954 * UEFA European Championship ** Third place (1): 1964 European Nations' Cup, 1964 * Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games ** Gold medal (3): Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1952, Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964, Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968 ** Silver medal (1): Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 ** Bronze medal (1): Football at the 1960 Summer Olympics, 1960 * Balkan Cup ** Champions (1): 1947 Balkan Cup, 1947

Notes

References

External links

Hungarian Football FederationHungary
at FIFA

at UEFA
Tickets related to the Hungarian National Football Team
(En/Hun)
Old crests of the Hungarian National Football Team
(En/Hun)
Every Olympic match with theHungarian National Football Team
(En/Hun)
National Team (some statistics)
(Hun)

*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/hong-coach.html RSSSF archive of coaches 1902–] *IFFHS Archive
1902–1910Aranycsapat – 'The Golden Team'
(Hun)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungary National Football Team Hungary national football team, European national association football teams

History

Early years

1910s

1920s

Golden Era

1930s

Player records

Most appearances

Most goals

Captains

Notable players

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Summer Olympics

Team records

Top international goalscorers of the 20th century

Undefeated run

All-time team record

Head-to-head record

FIFA ranking

Honours

International titles

See also

Notes

References

External links