Dominik Szoboszlai will make European Championship history for Hungary this weekend in their opening match against Switzerland.
In the second game of the tournament, 18 hours after his Liverpool teammate Andy Robertson skippers Scotland as they take on the hosts, Szoboszlai, 23, will lead out his country for the first time at a major tournament. His teammates and Hungary head coach Marco Rossi chose the midfielder to become their captain in November 2022, days after his 22nd birthday.
Now, 18 months later, Szoboszlai will wear the armband in Cologne as the nation makes its third consecutive appearance at the tournament and only its fifth ever. But it is not just a historic day for Hungary on Saturday afternoon.
Captaining his country aged 23 years, seven months, and 21 days means Szoboszlai will become the youngest captain in European Championship history since the first edition in 1960. The player himself has also been made aware of the impending feat.
“A few days ago, I found out that I’ll be the youngest team captain of all time at the European Championship; this is a great honour for me and at the same time, I would like to thank Marco Rossi for trusting me and for giving me the opportunity to lead the team to the European Championship,” he said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Szoboszlai also spoke about the end of his debut season with Liverpool. “I’ve just finished a difficult season, but since this was my first in the Premier League, I’m not dissatisfied with my performance, although I definitely want to have a better season next time,” Szoboszlai said.
“I usually think positively, so it didn’t bother me that I played a smaller role at Liverpool at the end of the season. At least the chance of injury was lower, and I could focus on the European Championship earlier.”
