PATRIK KOVÁCS

"I am confident that we will score goals in the game this weekend"

We talked to our young striker about the successful European U-19 qualifiers and the weekend match against ZTE

Cyprus, Andorra and Germany were the opponents in the first qualifying round on the road to the U19 European Championship. Two wins and one defeat qualified Hungary for the next round. How do you rate the national team's performance?

Our aim was to progress from the group, and we achieved that in the second game, so we were able to play Germany with a sense of freedom. Andorra was definitely the most difficult match, it was the one with the highest stakes. After beating Cyprus in the first round, we knew that another win would take us through. It was not only the stakes that made it difficult for us, the Andorrans were a very unpleasant opponent, they were crammed in front of their goal and were sliding, crawling and biting all the time. Fortunately we scored towards the end and beat them. In the last game against the Germans, the pressure was off us and we played our best. We took the lead and I was sorry we didn't win.

You started against Cyprus and Andorra, while against Germany you came on as a substitute in the second half. How do you rate your own performance and what else do you need to do to qualify for the tournament?

I was satisfied. Although I didn't score this time, I think I contributed to the national team's game both defensively and offensively. I rate my performance as good and I'm very happy to have been given the chance to start twice during the qualifiers. In March we will have another elite round; like the first qualifying round, there will be four-team groups and the first two will qualify for the European Championship. We do not know our opponents yet.

Going back to the Hungarian league, we have had two frustrating games: in Diósgyőr and at home against Újpest we had chances but failed to score. How do you deal with this in the dressing room and what can you do to change this against ZTE?

Overall, our game was okay, we got to the goal several times, which is still better than not creating. We are trying to stay calm, we know that sooner or later our luck will change and we will get the chances. We have to continue like this against ZTE and we have to concentrate more in front of goal. I am confident that we will score goals in the game this weekend.

Author: David Rechnitzer

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