Euro 2024 ultimately ended up being something of a very mixed bag for Liverpool players.
The Reds had 10 players representing their countries in Germany, but none managed to come home with a winners medal.
Cody Gakpo stood out for the Netherlands, but other than the forward, it was a forgettable tournament for the other travelling members of the Liverpool squad.
Virgil van Dijk has received criticism and he isn’t the only one. Trent Alexander-Arnold was ‘hung out to dry’ by England, while Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Joe Gomez didn’t play a minute.
On the flip side of that, Dominik Szoboszlai played as much as he possibly could for Hungary. But Liverpool’s No.8 did not have a happy time of it either.
Dominik Szoboszlai included in ‘disappointing XI’
There had been plenty of expectation surrounding Hungary heading into Euro 2024. Szoboszlai had been predicted to be a star of the tournament as they looked to cause a slight upset.
In the end though, they simply couldn’t get going. Beaten in their first two games against Switzerland and then Germany, a last-second winner in the final match against Andy Robertson’s Scotland was not enough to see them qualify.
Szoboszlai earned praise from Thomas Frank, Brentford’s manager, during the tournament, but he was largely disappointing during all three outings.
Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, he was subsequently included in Spanish outlet Marca’s worst XI of Euro 2024.
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Hungarian FA president Sandor Csanyi has since confirmed that Szoboszlai was carrying an injury while playing for his country and speaking to Nemzeti Sport he also addressed the criticism of the Liverpool man’s performances.
“I don’t consider this kind of compilation to be a professional product,” says Csanyi. “The fact that his name comes up on such an issue at all indicates the positive fact that his past performance has aroused interest and expectation from experts at international level.
“Unfortunately, the press did not report that he achieved good results in several important statistical indicators, and in some cases he finished in the top ten among all the players of the European Championship,” he adds.
“Of course, he can’t be proud of being part of the “disappointing team” either, and I feel bad to see him too. But we, along with all the fans of the national team, must encourage and help him in this situation.”
Dominik Szoboszlai must bounce back from Euro disappointment
It will have been a difficult summer for Szoboszlai. Such a confident young man, it will have hurt him not to have been at 100 per cent for his country.
Nevertheless, the midfielder now has to put all of that behind him and focus on having a better second season at Anfield.
Szoboszlai has returned to training already and it’s imperative that he stays fit enough to impress Arne Slot during the off-season.
Up until now, we’d argue that we have very rarely seen the best of Szoboszlai in a Liverpool shirt. There is a lot more to come from the Hungarian, but he needs to justify the hype that comes overwhelmingly from his homeland.
Szoboszlai will be looking to bounce back for both club and country and if he can channel his frustration into being better, that can only be a good thing for Liverpool.
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