The Republic of Ireland national team surprised its Hungarian counterpart, in the sixth match of the sixth group of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Irish snatched the ticket to qualify for the European playoff, after they beat the Hungarians in their homeland by three goals to two.
Ireland overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half to win, during the match hosted by the Puskas Stadium in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on Sunday evening.
The locals took the lead early, after Daniel Lukacs scored with a header that came from an indirect corner kick executed by captain Dominik Sozbuzlai.
Troy Parrott equalized the score for Ireland via a penalty kick, then Barnabas Varga added the second goal with a powerful shot on the bird.
Troy Parrott, take your place on the pantheon of Irish greats 🇮🇪pic.twitter.com/KATKNMZO4g
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) November 16, 2025
Parrott is the star of the qualifiers
A drawing of the Dutch FC Alkmaar striker, Troy Parrott, a graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre. Star for Hungary vs Ireland.
Barot led his team to return to the match strongly, as he scored the equalizer in a beautiful way in the 80th minute, then seized the ball and put it past Hungary in the 96th minute.
The Irish overcame their deficit in the first three rounds of the qualifiers, by achieving three consecutive victories against Armenia, Portugal, and then Hungary.
Barot’s emergence had a major impact on this, as he scored five goals out of six, giving his team nine points.
The qualification of the teams of Ireland, the Czech Republic and Albania to the European playoff was confirmed, pending the completion of the number on Tuesday.
Next March, 16 teams will compete for four qualifying seats for the 2026 World Cup.
The European Union selected 12 teams that finished the qualifiers in second place, to join the leaders of the four European Nations League groups.
The draw for the global and European playoffs will be held next Thursday at FIFA headquarters in the Swiss city of Zurich.
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