MLS Sporting Kansas City

Daniel Salloi to Join Hungary for World Cup Qualifying

Published on November 2, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi has been selected to the Hungary Men's National Team for their final two matches of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

After making his first appearance for Hungary's senior team earlier this year, Salloi will join the Magyars once again for two World Cup qualifiers in Group I of the UEFA region. Hungary is set to host San Marino on Nov. 12 at Puskas Arena in Budapest before traveling to Warsaw to face Poland on Nov. 15 at Stadium Narodowy. Both matches will kick off at 1:45 p.m. CT.

Salloi will depart for Europe following Sporting KC's final regular-season match on Sunday, Nov. 7 against rival Real Salt Lake on MLS Decision Day.

Hungary MNT World Cup Qualifying Schedule

Friday, Nov. 12 vs. San Marino | 1:45 p.m. CT | ESPN3

Monday, Nov. 15 at Poland | 1:45 p.m. CT | ESPN+

Currently pacing Sporting KC with 16 goals and eight assists, Salloi collected his first three caps for Hungary during the September FIFA window, coming off the bench in all three appearances. He earned his first national team start on Oct. 9 in a 1-0 loss to Albania.

Led by Italian head coach Marco Rossi, Hungary currently finds itself in fourth place in Group I. With just two games left to play, the Magyars are six points back of second-place Poland for the group's coveted playoff spot. With Albania four points ahead of Hungary in third place, Hungary must take maximum points while hoping for Poland and Albania to suffer defeats for a chance to advance to the UEFA 2022 World Cup Qualifying playoffs.

Before making his senior-team debut, Salloi previously represented Hungary in 2019 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying, where he scored once in four appearances from November 2017 to March 2018. He earned his first selection to Hungary's senior team in September 2018 and was an unused substitute in UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and Finland.

Salloi is tied for fourth in MLS with 16 goals and tied for third with 24 total goal contributions (16 goals, 8 assists). He received MLS All-Star recognition, the first Sporting KC Academy product to do so, and helped the MLS All-Stars win a penalty shootout over the LIGA MX All-Stars in the MLS All-Star Game on Aug. 25 in Los Angeles.

Now in his sixth season with Sporting, Salloi has played in 28 of 32 MLS matches in 2021 and scored in 14 separate matches this season, tied for the most in the league. With five game-winning goals and four game-winning assists, he has scored or assisted the match winner in nine Sporting victories this season.

Signing for Sporting as a Homegrown Player in 2016, Salloi has blossomed into an MLS MVP candidate and lethal force up top. In 2018, he took home the Sporting KC golden boot with 11 goals in the regular season to help Sporting finish atop the Western Conference. The forward added three additional goals in the MLS Cup Playoffs that season and netted the game winner in the 2017 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final.

Salloi was also named the club's Neal and Jeanne Patterson Humanitarian of the Year in 2019 for his philanthropic work with The Victory Project and across the Kansas City community. In 2021, Salloi has Sporting in the hunt for another No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and a berth in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League.

A native of Budapest, Salloi moved to the United States in August 2014 as an exchange student and attended Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas. He joined the Sporting Kansas City Academy U-18s for the 2014-15 season and scored a team-high 21 goals in 28 appearances, including three hat tricks. During his time in the Academy, Salloi lived with a host family in a program currently supported by the Audi Goals Drive Progress initiative.

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