Hungary vs Slovenia

Two teams that have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup will lock horns in an international friendly on Saturday, with Hungary taking on Slovenia.

Neither side will be present at the finals of this summer’s tournament, with their next competitive football therefore coming in the UEFA Nations League later this year.

Match preview

Hungary were last in action on November 16, suffering a 3-2 defeat to the Republic of Ireland, with the result seeing them finish third in Group F and end their chances of being involved in this summer’s World Cup.

Nemzeti Tizenegy have not actually qualified for the finals of a World Cup since 1986, but they have been present in each of the last three European Championships, making the round of 16 in 2016 and then being knocked out in the group stage in 2020 and 2024.

Marco Rossi‘s side have actually won two and lost just one of their last four matches, and they have four friendlies coming up against Slovenia, Greece, Finland and Kazakhstan before beginning their UEFA Nations League campaign against Ukraine on September 25.

Hungary have faced Slovenia on only four previous occasions and have posted one win – a 2-1 success in a friendly back in August 1998.

Each of the four meetings between these two sides have been friendlies, with their last game, which Slovenia won 1-0, taking place in March 2008.

Slovenia will also not be present at the finals of the 2026 World Cup, having finished third in their Group B qualification campaign behind Switzerland and Kosovo.

The national team failed to win any of their six qualification matches, drawing four times and scoring only three goals, so it was a very disappointing section for the European outfit.

Slovenia last qualified for the finals of a World Cup in 2010, but they did compete in the finals of Euro 2024, reaching the last-16 stage of the competition.

Bostjan Cesar was appointed the head coach of the national team in January, with the 43-year-old, who is his country’s most-capped player of all time, therefore preparing to take charge of Slovenia for the first time on Saturday.

Slovenia have friendlies against Hungary, Montenegro and Croatia coming up, before beginning their UEFA Nations League challenge against Scotland on September 26.

Hungary friendlies form:

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Hungary form (all competitions):

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Slovenia friendlies form:

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Slovenia form (all competitions):

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Team News

Hungary have four uncapped players in their current squad, including Donat Barany, and the 25-year-old could make his debut for the national side on Saturday.

There will be a opportunities for a number of fresh faces to make their mark, including Daniel Lukacs, who has netted twice in five appearances for the national side.

Meanwhile, there are also set to be spots in the starting XI for Liverpool duo Milos Kerkez and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Slovenia, meanwhile, will be without the services of Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko, who has withdrawn from the squad to deal with an unspecified issue; Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak is also a notable absentee through injury.

Andraz Sporar is the leading goalscorer in the current squad, having found the back of the net on 12 occasions for his country, and the 32-year-old should lead the attack.

The most experienced member of the squad is Petar Stojanovic, who is in line to win his 73rd cap for the national team, while there is also set to be a spot in the middle of the back four for Leeds United’s Jaka Bijol.

Hungary possible starting lineup:

Toth; R Sollai, Orban, Nego, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Schafer, Vitalis; Schon, Varaga, Lukacs

Slovenia possible starting lineup:

Vekic; Stojanovic, Bijol, Zec, Janza; Verbic, Cerin, Stankovic, Seslar; Sporar, Vipotnik

We say: Hungary 1-1 Slovenia

There has never been a draw between Hungary and Slovenia, but we are expecting history to be made on Saturday, with the pair potentially playing out a low-scoring draw in the international friendly.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.