Szoboszlai Shines as Hungary Defeats Kazakhstan 3-1 in Friendly

For a few unsettling seconds in Debrecen, the football stopped and everyone looked up.

Hungary’s 3-1 win over Kazakhstan at the Nagyerdei Stadion on Tuesday was supposed to be a gentle international friendly, a showcase for Dominik Szoboszlai and a chance for fringe players to stake a claim. Instead, it briefly veered towards disaster when a TV camera, suspended high from the stadium roof, came crashing down onto the pitch.

The device, hanging by wires some 20 metres above the turf, had reportedly begun to smoke midway through the first half after a fire damaged the cable supporting it. In the 26th minute, the cable finally gave way. The heavy camera plummeted and smashed into the ground just a couple of metres from a pitchside cameraman.

It could have been horrific. Somehow, nobody was hurt.

Players, staff and officials stood in shock as the wreckage lay on the pitch. The referee halted play while the broken equipment was cleared and safety checks were carried out. Only once the immediate danger had passed did the football resume.

When it did, Szoboszlai seized control of the night.

The Liverpool midfielder, wearing the armband for his country, led Hungary from behind after a sluggish start. Kazakhstan struck first in the ninth minute, silencing the home crowd and puncturing the early rhythm. Hungary needed their captain to drag them back into the contest, and he responded after the interval.

Early in the second half, Szoboszlai found the equaliser, underlining once again why he has become the focal point of this Hungary side. Sharp, decisive, he took responsibility in the final third and levelled the game to reset the mood inside the Nagyerdei Stadion.

The pressure told again as Szoboszlai turned provider. Sensing Kazakhstan wobbling, he slipped in Andras Schäfer, who finished to put the hosts in front and flip the narrative of the evening. From the scare of the first-half stoppage and an early deficit, Hungary were suddenly in control, their captain at the heart of it all.

The closing stages brought another Liverpool subplot.

Armin Pecsi, the Reds’ reserve goalkeeper, stepped off the bench just after the hour mark to make his senior international debut. The 21-year-old, who joined Liverpool last summer and is still waiting for a first-team appearance at Anfield, finally tasted senior action on the international stage instead. He had come close to a club debut in April, when he was almost required against Crystal Palace after Freedie Woodman needed lengthy treatment with both Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili already sidelined. This time, the call actually came.

Pecsi’s introduction added a fresh layer of intrigue for Liverpool watchers, even as the match itself moved towards a comfortable home win. Bournemouth’s Alex Tóth wrapped up the scoring in injury time, striking late to seal a 3-1 victory and give the scoreline the gloss Hungary’s second-half dominance deserved.

Not every Liverpool connection saw the pitch. Milos Kerkez remained unused, watching on as his team-mates navigated both an early scare on the scoreboard and a far more alarming one from the stadium roof.

For Szoboszlai, Pecsi and Kerkez, there is no World Cup to look forward to this month after Hungary failed to qualify. Nights like this, then, carry a different kind of weight: a reminder of what they are missing, a platform to sharpen form, and, as Debrecen discovered, a stark illustration that sometimes the biggest danger comes from above, not from the opposition.