Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath and forward Krisztian Nemeth have been selected to the Hungary Men’s National Team for the start of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying during FIFA’s international window this month.
Barath, Nemeth and the Magyars will begin their Group E qualifying campaign on March 21, visiting Slovakia at 2:45 p.m. CT inside Anton Malatinsky Stadium in Trnava, Slovakia. Hungary will then host 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Croatia on March 24 in a noon CT matchup at Groupama Arena in Budapest.
Barath and Nemeth will link up with Hungary following Sporting’s MLS regular season match at the Colorado Rapids on Sunday night. The St. Patrick’s Day clash will kick off at 8 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, ESPN 95.3 FM and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.
Group E of Euro qualifying is one of 10 groups that will determine which teams qualify for UEFA Euro 2020, which is scheduled to take place in 12 cities in 12 different European countries during the summer of 2020.
Hungary are one of five nations in a challenging group alongside Slovakia, Croatia, Azerbaijan and Wales. Participants will square off in a home-and-away, double-round-robin format between now and November, with the top two finishers advancing to the tournament finals.
Barath, 26, has made three appearances for Sporting in all competitions since joining the club in December from hometown side Budapest Honved FC. The center back earned his MLS debut in a 2-1 loss at LAFC on March 3, started three days later against Independiente in the Concacaf Champions League, and helped Sporting to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union in Sunday’s MLS home opener.
Before debuting for Hungary’s senior team last October, Barath represented the Magyars at the U-18, U-19 and U-21 levels from 2009-2013. He most notably competed in qualifying matches for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He has collected three career caps at the senior level.
Nemeth, 30, scored in each of his first three appearances for Sporting this season. The in-form striker found the back of the net in both Concacaf Champions League fixtures against Mexican outfit Deportivo Toluca FC and opened his MLS scoring account in Week 1 against LAFC. The forward is currently in his second stint with Sporting, having starred for the side in 2015 before rejoining last August in a trade from the New England Revolution.
Nemeth has made 35 appearances for Hungary since 2010, scoring four goals and competing at UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He also represented the Magyars in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying. He most recently featured for Hungary alongside Barath in a 1-0 loss to Greece last October in the UEFA Nations League.
