There are few footballers who can say they are icons of their country at 23-years-old. But for Dominik Szoboszlai this is definitely the case. Thousands flock to the Puskas Arena in their droves to watch him play.
He is regarded as Hungary’s best player in the 21st century, and will leave an indelible legacy. Few players in the last 50 years have gone onto achieve what Szoboszlai has done in the game and have gone onto play at such a high level from Hungary.
As a result, Szoboszlai is a linchpin for the national team. He controls games and starts every single match for his nation. He relishes playing under pressure, and can sometimes win games single-handedly. For example, he scored a last-minute winner to qualify for Euro 2020 during the play off final against Iceland a few years ago.
More recently, Szoboszlai has scored five goals in his last five international caps, and also has three assists in that period as well. Meaning he has contributed to a remarkable eight goals in his last five matches for Hungary.
What’s happened to Hungary since Szoboszlai was named captain
Over a year ago now, Szoboszlai was also appointed as the captain of his national team at just 21-years-old. He received the honour back in 2022 after the retirement of Adam Szalai, and has gone onto excel in his new responsibility.
So far Szoboszlai has captained 14 matches for Hungary. In those 14 matches, Hungary are still yet to lose a single match. The last time they were defeated was against Italy back in September 2022. In fact, the only team Hungary has lost to in the last two years has been Italy.
Szoboszlai’s side eased through Euro qualification unbeaten. They also beat England back to back in the Nations League, and Germany as well. The country’s unbeaten run means that Hungary now hold the record for the longest current unbeaten run by a European international team. Meanwhile, only Luis Diaz’s Colombia have a longer current unbeaten record than Hungary worldwide. Diaz’s side has been unbeaten in 21 matches and continued their good run beaten Spain and Romania during the international break.