Dujshebaev starts troublesome Hungarian adventure vs. Portugal

Hungary will throw off their first adventure with Talant Dujshebaev at the helm against Portugal and Ukraine in the EHF EURO 2016 Qualification Group 5. The Spanish coach will have to do without some key players and with a couple of new faces but Dujshebaev knows Hungary cannot afford to miss two tournaments in a row.

Hungary go all in

"I am going to give my all for the cause and expect all my players to do the same,” said Dujshebaev in Miskolc, where the Hungarian squad had gathered two days before their first qualifier against Portugal.

The Hungarian team is in desperate need of the qualification to the EHF EURO as they will be absent from the World Championship in Qatar, which makes the Olympic qualification (an issue of utmost importance in Hungary) a quite intricate task.

After the resignation of Lajos Mocsai after the lost World Championship qualifier in Slovenia the Hungarian federation quickly moved to seal the deal with the new coach but Dujshebaev is facing a lot of difficulties.

Longing for medals

Hungary would normally be huge favourites to win Group 5 ahead of Russia, Portugal and Ukraine but problems are mounting heavily for Dujshebaev. The new coach will have to do without established national team members such as Laszlo Nagy, Mate Lekai and Gergely Harsanyi due to injury and will have to start building a team from youngsters.

"First we just have to concentrate on the two forthcoming games then we can start focusing on trainings and friendly games to pick up new ideas.

"Hungary did well in the past tournaments and our aim is to keep up with the best teams and fight for medals in the future," promised Dujshebaev, and a medal at the EHF EURO is likely to be the thing that Hungary need to achieve Olympic qualification.

While Hungarian clubs are having a good run in the EHF Champions League Dujshebaev’s first team will include a lot of youngsters who immediately have to step up as there is no time left to get used to international atmosphere.

Hungarian roster for the EHF EURO qualification match against Portugal

Goalkeepers: Roland Mikler (MKB MVM Veszprem), Márton Szekely (Balatonfüred)
Right wings: Peter Gulyas (MKB MVM Veszprem), Akos Pasztor (Grundfos Tatabanya)
Right backs: Zsolt Balogh (MOL-Pick Szeged), Gabor Ancsin (MOL-Pick Szeged)
Centre backs: Gabor Csaszar (PSG Handball), Balazs Szöllösi (Balatonfüred)
Line players: Szabolcs Zubai (MOL-Pick Szeged), Timuzsin Schuch (MKB MVM Veszprem), Bence Banhidi (Balatonfüred), Szabolcs Szollosi (Csurgo)
Left backs: Ferenc Ilyes (MOL-Pick Szeged), Bence Zdolik (Balatonfüred), Richard Bodo (Grundfos Tatabanya), Kornel Nagy (Dunkerque HB)
Left wings: Gergo Ivancsik (MKB MVM Veszprém), Milan Varsandan (B.Braun Gyöngyös)

Coach: Talant Dujshebaev
Assistant coach: Laszlo Sotonyi