FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Nations League - Group C - Hungary v Italy - Puskas Arena Park, Budapest, Hungary - September 26, 2022 Hungary's Adam Szalai with the fans in the stand after playing his last game for his country REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Hungary assistant coach Adam Szalai said he was fine after collapsing and being rushed to hospital minutes after the start of his country’s Nations League tie against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday.
Posting on social media, the former Bundesliga striker thanked supporters for their messages of support and said he was fine.
Szalai, 36, collapsed on the bench seven minutes into the match at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
He could be seen lying on the ground next to the team’s bench with his legs twitching, as staff and substitutes quickly formed a protective barrier around him.
The match was delayed for 13 minutes and Szalai was taken by ambulance to hospital.
“Adam is conscious, can talk and all is in order,” coach Marco Rossi told the post match press conference. “The referee asked us if we wanted to continue playing and my players said they did.”
Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai gathered his players in a discussion on the pitch before they agreed to go on.
Szalai is a former captain of the Hungarian team and was appointed assistant coach earlier this year. He scored 26 goals in 86 international appearances for Hungary and had a lengthy club career in Germany at Mainz, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim.
The Dutch won the match 4-0 to book a place in next March’s Nations League quarter-finals.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Frances Kerry)
