‘It hurts…’ – Dominik Szoboszlai lets out his Hungary heartbreak in emotional social media post | OneFootball

Dominik Szoboszlai saw his dreams of a first World Cup appearance go up in smoke on Sunday as Hungary’s qualification hopes were ended in dramatic fashion.

Needing only a draw at home to Republic of Ireland to secure a play-off berth, Marco Rossi’s side twice led before being pegged back, and the killer blow came six minutes into stoppage time as Troy Parrott completed his hat-trick.

The Liverpool midfielder – who was the subject of derogatory remarks from some pundits yesterday – was unable to hide his heartbreak when doorstopped by Hungarian TV after the match as the pain of failing to qualify for next summer’s finals in North America was at it rawest.

Szoboszlai takes to social media after Hungary heartbreak

Twenty-four hours on from the defeat in Budapest, the agony for Szoboszlai hadn’t subsided, with the 25-year-old taking to X with an emotional and defiant statement as he reflected on the result.

The Reds’ number 8 posted (translated from Hungarian): ‘It hurts. It hurts because we wanted it so badly! Not just for ourselves, but for you too. For you, who always stand by our side and would accompany us to the ends of the earth.

‘As team captain, I’m sorry that we couldn’t make it this time… But I’m infinitely proud of every player, staff member, and coach. I love being Hungarian, even when life puts us to the test.

‘One day, every detail will fall into place, and that’s what we work for again and again. You too, and we too. We owe you and ourselves a World Cup. The work has started again. I love you, Hungary!’

(Photo by David Balogh/Getty Images)

Hopefully Szoboszlai will be a whole lot happier next weekend!

Szoboszlai has already had the experience of representing his country in a major tournament (Euro 2024), but for footballers there’s nothing on a par with playing in a World Cup, something that Hungary haven’t done since 1986 and won’t get to do for at least five more years.

The midfielder can’t be accused of not playing his part in trying to secure a play-off berth – in his country’s final three qualifiers, he scored one goal and set up another three, but those endeavours still weren’t enough to secure anything more than four points from the second half of their campaign.

At least with that game being played on Sunday afternoon, he’ll have had almost a week to process his disappointment by the time Liverpool are next in action (against Nottingham Forest on Saturday), and his focus will swiftly revert to maintaining his magnificent displays for his club.

Szoboszlai has been one of the Reds’ most consistent performers during a tough autumn for the champions, with Melissa Reddy hailing him as the team’s ‘golden thread‘ amid their struggles in recent weeks.

Hopefully the 25-year-old can take out his World Cup frustrations on Sean Dyche’s side next weekend and continue to excel for LFC as the hard winter slog swings into view.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Man City press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: