Hungary vs Ireland | 2025 World Cup Qualifiers

Coming off the back of a momentous win against Portugal, and with the echoing words of the home crowd probably still ringing in their ears, Ireland certainly have more momentum behind them going into this fixture.  

With Hungary only narrowly edging out Armenia last night by one goal, the pressure will be on them to perform at home. Their home form isn’t doing them any favours either, being defeated by each of Portugal, Turkey and a struggling Sweden side so far this year.

Make no mistake, Hallgrimsson’s men will be looking to capitalise on this fragility, and with Evan Ferguson almost certainly out through injury, the baton has been passed onto star man Troy Parrott to produce the goods just as he did against Portugal.

There’s everything to play for in this tie. Ireland need a win to qualify, while Hungary need at least a draw to secure a play-off spot. Given Ireland's recent run of form, you get the feeling that Hungary will be doing everything they can to run the clock down.

The odds have shortened dramatically for this one since Ireland's win last night. Hungary are still odds-on to win the game, but it’s difficult to ignore the 19/20 on offer with Betfred for an Ireland win or draw given their recent upturn in form.

Following a magical first-half brace last night, Troy Parrott has single-handedly kept Ireland’s dreams of qualification alive. With leading forward Evan Ferguson looking doubtful, the weight of responsibility will be on Parrott to push his country over the line for the second time this week. He’s done the job at club level for AZ Alkmaar, with a hugely impressive 13 goals in 14 appearances so far this season, so he’s certainly not afraid of finding the back of the net.

Considering Hungary’s shaky home form (they have conceded eight goals in their previous four games), you’d think there will be gaps for Parrott to make a nuisance of himself, especially with the opportunity to usurp star man Ferguson.  

Parrott is 3/1 to score at any time with William Hill, which feels like an attractive price. While he hasn’t been the most convincing goal scorer on the international stage for some time, his flying club form this season and courageous efforts against Portugal make him a strong contender to net on Sunday.

With four yellow cards in the Premier League this season and one yellow in the reverse fixture in Dublin, Dominik Szoboszlai is no stranger to a referee's whistle.

Szoboszlai was the first player to be carded in Dublin in September, being cautioned for a bad foul after Ireland started to take back control of the game. 

With this fixture having so much pinned on its result, the Hungarian captain will be looking to stamp his mark on the game in any way possible. With a trail of booking points preceding him, it wouldn’t be a shock if he starts the game with more spice than usual.

Bearing in mind his disciplinary record, there could be an awful lot of value in the 20/1 on offer with bet365 for Szoboszlai to be the first player to be shown a card.