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Preview: Ireland set for crunch World Cup qualifier in Hungary

Ireland’s Chiedozie Ogbene and Dominik Szoboszlai of Hungary during the UEFA Group F World Cup qualifying match between the sides in Dublin in September, which ended 2-2 (Image: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

IRELAND will face Hungary this afternoon with a win guaranteeing at least a World Cup play-off spot for Heimer Hallgrimsson's men.

The Boys in Green revived their hopes of reaching the finals with an impressive 2-0 victory at home to Portugal on Thursday, which also saw Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for the visitors.

Defeat would have ended Ireland's chances of reaching next year's tournament but today's final round of matches sees three of the four teams mathematically still in the hunt for top spot.

Goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher said the side were fully-focussed on the Hungary game but conceded the result against Portugal had given the squad a boost.

"We enjoyed the victory, obviously, but pretty soon after the game, attention turned towards this game and how important this is, so all that matters is Sunday," he said during a pre-match press conference.

"I think we were due [a big win] for a while and it all came together on Thursday night. It's going to give us a lot of confidence now for Sunday.

"When you get a big win like that, it gives everyone a big boost and fills the whole team with a lot of confidence and we're going to go into Sunday now ready and prepared."

What do Ireland need to do

Technically, Ireland can still qualify as group winners but it would take an unlikely turn of events to transpire.

Ireland would have to beat Hungary and hope Armenia can shock Portugal in Porto.

That would leave both Ireland and Portugal on the same points, so Ireland would also need a five-goal swing to have a better goal difference.

However, Armenia have won only one of their games, at home to Ireland, and lost the other four, including 5-0 to Portugal in Yerevan.

With Portugal not yet assured of qualifying themselves, Roberto Martinez's side will leave nothing on the pitch against Armenia.

Even in the unlikely event Armenia managed to win in Porto and Ireland beat Hungary, it's hard to see the goal swing being achieved, with Armenia's two goals in their 2-1 victory over Ireland the only ones they have managed in qualifying.

Realistically, Ireland's only hope is to finish second and reach the play-offs.

Put simply, Ireland must beat Hungary — a draw will not suffice. The winner of the match will be assured of at least a play-off spot.

Head to head

Ireland have a strong record against the two-time World Cup finalists, albeit during a period when Hungary was no longer the force it once was in international football.

However, they have undergone something of a resurgence in recent years, qualifying for the European Championships after failing to make the previous 10 tournaments.

In their seven meetings since 1989, Ireland are undefeated, winning three and drawing four.

Four of the meetings were friendlies, with Ireland winning in Hungary in 1991 and in Dublin last year.

Of their three competitive meetings, the sides drew 0-0 in Hungary and Ireland won 2-0 in Dublin during qualification for the 1990 World Cup.

The last competitive meeting between the sides was the World Cup qualifier in Dublin in September, which saw Ireland come back to draw 2-2 after shipping two goals in the first 15 minutes.

Form

Ireland have won their last two games, against Armenia and Portugal, and have lost two of their last nine games since a 5-0 Nations League defeat to England at Wembley last November.

The two defeats in that time came during World Cup qualifying in the shock 2-1 loss in Armenia and a 1-0 loss in Portugal after Ruben Neves scored in injury-time.

Hungary have lost five and won three of their last 11 games since November 2024.

However, they were competing at a higher level than Ireland in the last edition of the Nations League.

During qualifying, they have lost just once, a 3-2 defeat at home to Portugal, for whom Joao Cancelo scored the winner late on.

They also drew 2-2 in both Portugal and Dublin.

Team news

Hallgrimsson has confirmed that Evan Ferguson won't be in the squad due to injury, however, Ryan Manning returns to the fold following his suspension.