The Hungarian national football team has started their European qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup with a turbulent 2–2 draw. In the away match against Ireland, Marco Rossi’s team had to play almost an entire half with a man down, but managed to defend their lead until stoppage time.
The game could not have started much better for Hungary. After goals from Barnabás Varga and Roland Sallai, they were already 2–0 up after just 15 minutes. But the Irish did not give up. Evan Ferguson scored shortly after the restart, and when Roland Sallai was shown a red card, the tide seemed to turn completely.
Despite heavy pressure from the hosts, Hungary held their lead right up to the final moments — only for Adam Idah to score a late equalizer in stoppage time.
Marco Rossi, the Hungarian team’s manager, was ambivalent after the match. He was proud of his team’s fighting spirit, saying they “fought like lions” in the second half, but was also disappointed that the lead slipped away in the last minute.
The Italian coach was anything but satisfied with the performance of German referee Harm Osmers. He sharply criticized the lack of equal treatment between the two teams and emphasized that Ireland’s first goal came after a foul on Barnabás Varga. He also considered the red card for Roland Sallai to be an overly harsh decision.
Marco Rossi. Photo: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
Rossi pointed out that losing Sallai was a heavy blow, as alongside Barnabás Varga, he is the best attacking player in the squad. He praised the performance of Dominik Szoboszlai, who excelled in a deeper, defensive midfield role and, according to the coach, has the potential to become one of the best players in the world in that position.
Ireland’s coach Heimir Hallgrímsson, on the other hand, was very pleased with earning a point.
“We deserved this point,” he said, praising the morale of his team, which came back from a 0–2 deficit. He noted that psychologically, it is extremely difficult to be two goals down after just 15 minutes, and that his players had “nothing to lose” after the break and played more aggressively as a result. With a hint of irony, he added that Rossi was welcome to be “angry at the referee,” since Hungary had been time-wasting from the 15th minute onward.
The Hungarian national team will host group favorites Portugal on Tuesday at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. Portugal won the Nations League in June.
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Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
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