A medical emergency for former Bundesliga striker Adam Szalai overshadowed the end of the fifth matchday in the Nations League. During the duel between the Dutch and Hungary in the German Group A3 in Amsterdam, the 36-year-old, who was sitting on the substitutes’ bench as part of the visiting staff, collapsed in the early stages of the game. Anxious moments followed – until the Hungarian football association MLSZ gave the all-clear. Szalai’s condition is “stable”, the 86-time international player is “conscious”, the association wrote to
The incident occurred in the seventh minute. Medical staff immediately rushed to Szalai’s aid, and players and supervisors initially formed a human screen together. After around ten minutes, the 86-time international player was brought out of the Johan Cruyff Arena on a stretcher and to applause, and the game then continued – but his thoughts remained with Szalai. “We wish Adam a quick and complete recovery,” wrote TSG Hoffenheim, one of his many Bundesliga stops, on X.
The fact that the Dutch secured second place behind the DFB team and thus their ticket to the quarter-finals with their 4-0 (2-0) win was irrelevant that evening. Wout Weghorst (21st/hand penalty), Cody Gakpo (45th+12/foul penalty), Denzel Dumfries (64th) and Teun Koopmeiners (86th) scored for the home team, which ended the preliminary round on Tuesday (8.45 p.m./DAZN ) has to compete in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hungary, safely in third place in the table, will face group winners Germany in Budapest (8.45 p.m./ZDF).
Meanwhile, the Turkish national team missed their first promotion match point. The European Championship quarter-finalists couldn’t get past a 0-0 draw against Wales in Kayseri – also because Kerem Aktürkoglu only hit the right outside post with a penalty in the 89th minute. With eleven points, the leader’s starting position is still good. With Montenegro, the bottom team with no points, a draw on Tuesday would be enough for the Turks to take first place. Only in the event of a Turkish defeat could the second-placed Welsh achieve direct promotion to the A-League with a win against Iceland (8.45 p.m./DAZN).
Sweden, on the other hand, has already made the jump from the C to the B league. In the 2-1 (1-1) win against Slovakia, the Scandinavians were once again able to rely on striker Viktor Gyökeres. The professional from Sporting Lisbon took the lead early on (3rd), then he paved the way for former Dortmund player Alexander Isak’s 2-1 winning goal (48th).
