Sporting Kansas City forwards Krisztian Nemeth and Johnny Russell will join their national teams next week for the resumption of the 2018-2019 UEFA Nations League in Europe.
Nemeth and Hungary will play two away matches in Group 2 of UEFA Nations League C, battling Greece on Friday, Oct. 12, at Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus before facing Estonia on Monday, Oct. 15, at A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn. Both games will kick off at 1:45 p.m. and stream live on ESPN+.
Russell and Scotland will resume their Group 1 campaign in UEFA Nations League C on Thursday, Oct. 11, visiting Israel at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa with kickoff set for 1:45 p.m. Scotland will then return home to meet world No. 7-ranked Portugal in an international friendly at 11 a.m. Sunday at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Both Scotland matches will stream live on ESPN+.
Before venturing across the Atlantic, Nemeth and Russell will be available for Sporting KC’s crucial Western Conference clash against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. Saturday inside Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. A limited number of tickets for the highly anticipated matchup, including standing-room only tickets, are available via SeatGeek.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
Nemeth, 29, has earned his first selection to the Hungary Men’s National Team since March. He has scored four goals in 34 senior appearances for the Magyars since debuting in 2010, featuring in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying as well as UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He last scored for Hungary in a 3-2 friendly defeat to Kazakhstan on March 23.
Since beginning his second stint at Sporting KC in early August, Nemeth has started four of eight MLS appearances with a goal and an assist, helping the side to a 5-2-1 record during that time. He previously spent the 2015 campaign with Sporting KC, notching 16 goals and seven assists as manager Peter Vermes’ men lifted the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title and advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Hungary currently occupies second place in Group 2 of UEFA Nations League C, having lost to Finland and beaten Greece last month. All four teams in the group-which consists of Hungary, Finland, Greece and Estonia-will play four more UEFA Nations League matches between now and mid-November. The first-place finisher will earn promotion to League B in the 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League, while the last-place team will be relegated to League D.
Russell, 28, has collected three of his seven caps for Scotland since joining Sporting KC ahead of the 2018 MLS season. He earned his first international start in a 1-0 friendly loss at Mexico on June 2 before featuring in a friendly defeat to world No. 2-ranked Belgium on Sept. 7. Three days later, Russell started in Scotland’s victorious UEFA Nations League curtain raiser against Albania. Prior to this year, the forward last represented his country in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier in October 2015.
Russell has enjoyed a superb debut season at Sporting KC, where he leads the team in both goals (10) and assists (11) across all competitions. His offensive output has proven instrumental for a side that has amassed 55 league goals-third most in club history-and sits two points behind first-place FC Dallas in the Western Conference.
Scotland joins Albania and Israel in the three-team Group 1 of UEFA Nations League C. Russell’s team owns an early hold of first place, having ousted Albania 2-0 on Sept. 10, with three games still to be played over the next month and a half. The first-place finisher will be promoted to League B in the 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League, while the last-place side faces possible relegation to League D.
– Story from Sporting KC