Ireland have secured their chance to take part in the 2026 World Cup thanks to a sensational comeback in the game against Hungary.
In the game in Budapest on Sunday afternoon, attacker Troy Parrott scored the much celebrated 3-2 winner (1-2) in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Favorite Hungary only needed one point to secure the playoff ticket, took the lead in the 3rd minute through Daniel Lukacs and was not unsettled by Parrott’s equalizer (15th minute): Barnabas Varga scored before the break (37th) to give the hosts the lead again.
Ireland pushes for victory in the final stages
This lasted until the 80th minute, before Parrott equalized again and thus opened a real Irish storm in the last minutes of the game. In the final phase, the guests pressed for the victory they needed to move past Hungary in the qualifying Group F table.
With ten points from six games (Hungary has eight points), the Irish will now play in the playoffs next spring for a World Cup ticket. Group winners Portugal (13 points) have already booked their ticket after surprisingly losing in Ireland last week.
First World Cup participation since 2002?
A successful World Cup qualification would be historic for Ireland: the last time the team took part was 23 years ago in Japan and South Korea. In total, Ireland took part in three World Cups (in addition to 2002, 1990 and 1994).