THE FAI MAY BE entering an even more stark era of austerity and frugality, but its senior men’s team are identifying and heralding growth like they’re a mid-noughties member of the Progressive Democrats.
Heimir Hallgrimsson: “It looks like they are taller today than when I came a year ago.”
Nathan Collins: “The big thing now is people are stepping into roles, people are stepping up to the plate and driving things in training and in matches.”
Paddy McCarthy: “ I feel we have great potential in this team at the moment and have seen the growth on and off the pitch in their confidence and stature.”
Caoimhín Kelleher: “Most of us are looking in the right time of our career right now. We’re all at a good age, we’re all playing week in, week out now as well. The last few camps have been really positive in terms of performances and results.”
Today we’ll find out whether the confidence in this particular Irish system is actually based on sound foundations.
Because if Ireland lose tonight, the value of all of the words above will crash like shares in Anglo Irish Bank.
It’s rare for the opening match of a qualifying campaign to be freighted with so much significance, but this is the consequence of hosting your single biggest rival in a qualifying sprint. Ireland’s four-team group means the whole of qualification is only a month longer than the actual World Cup itself.
The most deadening aspect of all these miserable years for the Irish team has been the stillbirth of consecutive qualifying campaigns. Remarkably, Ireland have lost the first two games of each of their last four group campaigns, including the Nations League. A repeat performance this time around is too grim to contemplate. Given we’re certs to qualify for Euro 2028 as co-hosts, we’d be almost two years from another meaningful game.
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With Portugal certs to top the group and take the only automatic qualification spot for the World Cup on offer, Ireland will vie with Hungary for second spot, which guarantees a play-off next Spring. Given our lowly status, success in this group would truly be if Ireland can have something real on the line going into the group finale in Budapest in November. All of this rests on at least avoiding defeat tonight.
Players, manager and coaching staff have been off the same hymn sheet all week, stressing that their self-belief comes from the “consistency and clarity” of Hallgrimsson’s messages on the training pitch, and so Ireland are unlikely to dramatically deviate from their game-plan tonight.
That plan is a 4-4-2 without the ball, and a 3-4-2-1 in possession. Some positions pick themselves: Caoimhín Kelleher in goal; Nathan Collins and Dara O’Shea at centre-back; Josh Cullen in midfield; and Evan Ferguson up front. Jake O’Brien and Matt Doherty compete for the right-back slot, where O’Brien’s power on set pieces could swing selection his way.
Doherty is also a contender to play at left-back in Robbie Brady’s absence, along with Liam Scales and Ryan Manning. This selection is the bellweather for Hallgrimsson’s attitude as to whether he needs one point or three. Doherty and Scales are the safer options, as Manning can be accommodated further forward. Pick Manning at left-back, though, and Ireland are bolstering their attack.
Jason Knight is the likeliest to play alongside Cullen in midfield, even though Jack Taylor or Killian Phillips would offer more physicality. There are no fears about Chiedozie Ogbene’s fitness after a long injury lay-off – the man himself says he is back sprinting at around 10 m/s – so he will likely play down Ireland’s right flank.
The next question is to what to do in the attack around Ferguson. Hallgrimsson can pick from creators (Azaz and Manning), dribblers (Johnston and McAteer), and more conventional forwards (Szmodics, Idah, and Johnny Kenny.) Azaz has been an outstanding recent performer for Ireland while Szmodics has more all-round ability, so those with more specialist skills may be preferred off the bench.
The key plank to Ireland’s game-plan will be shutting down Dominik Szoboszlai, who will start as one of Hungary’s two number 10s but will be given licence to roam about as he pleases. He thus cannot be man-marked, and instead Ireland will focus on denying him his most effective space on the edge of the Irish box.
Hallgrimsson, however, has a bigger concern than the Liverpool midfielder.
“It’s an experienced team with a lot of understanding between good individual players”, he says. “For me, that’s what scares me more than individuals, their knowledge of each other, their combination play.”
Ireland must hope Hungary have been together for too long under their coach, Marco Rossi. The Italian, now a Hungarian citizen, has been in charge since 2018 and brought Hungary to each of the two previous Euros, though he has been forced to change styles to stay in the job. With Hungary’s gargantuan State investment into football academies now bearing fruit, Rossi has had to fit them into the squad.
Hence old stalwarts like midfielder Adam Nagy have been sidelined, who is a kind of Hungarian Glenn Whelan: a defensive midfielder whose reputation is enhanced the longer he doesn’t play. Without him, Hungary have therefore become more susceptible on the counter-attack, which partially explains how they were trounced 3-0 at home to Turkyie in March, in a game in which Hungary actually played reasonably well. They are also without midfielder András Schafer tonight, so Hungary may have a soft centre.
They have always played a back three under Rossi, but there are murmurs they are considering a shift to a back four for this game, a scenario Ireland have planned for.
“The system is not what matters”, said defender Attila Szalai at the pre-game press conference. “What counts is how players deal with their tasks and deliver.”
Szobozslai said earlier this week that a draw would be like “gold”, and Rossi agrees that tonight’s game is the clash of the sides likely to vie for second spot. Rossi and Hungary were in Dublin in June of last year, beaten 2-1 in a pre-Euros friendly during John O’Shea’s interim spell.
“We have studied our opponent really well since they changed the coach, we know how they play, we know all the players who have played until now”, said Rossi. “We know also the way which they could play tomorrow. Everything can change – I cannot read the mind of my colleague – but tomorrow I don’t think there will be many surprises on the pitch.
“Ireland are a solid and physical team, they play direct football in general but they can also manage ball possession for some moments in the game. They have five players from the Premier League, one from Serie A, 12 or more from the Championship. We know the intensity of the match will be really high.”
Tonight’s game sold out days ago, and Hallgrimsson has called on everyone going not to simply enjoy the game, but to create the atmosphere. A victory would be Ireland’s biggest win since the win away to Wales in October 2017, which was the last time they beat a side ranked above them in a major tournament qualifying game. That game was in Cardiff, and so the last time Ireland won a qualifier at home to a superior-ranked side was the Euro 2016 play-off victory over Bosnia, almost 10 years ago.
You might say Ireland are due a win, but frankly a draw would be fine, as it would maintain the momentum into which this Irish team have talked themselves.
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Ireland have said all the right things ahead of Hungary clash - Now it's time for action
THE FAI MAY BE entering an even more stark era of austerity and frugality, but its senior men’s team are identifying and heralding growth like they’re a mid-noughties member of the Progressive Democrats.
Heimir Hallgrimsson: “It looks like they are taller today than when I came a year ago.”
Nathan Collins: “The big thing now is people are stepping into roles, people are stepping up to the plate and driving things in training and in matches.”
Paddy McCarthy: “ I feel we have great potential in this team at the moment and have seen the growth on and off the pitch in their confidence and stature.”
Caoimhín Kelleher: “Most of us are looking in the right time of our career right now. We’re all at a good age, we’re all playing week in, week out now as well. The last few camps have been really positive in terms of performances and results.”
Today we’ll find out whether the confidence in this particular Irish system is actually based on sound foundations.
Because if Ireland lose tonight, the value of all of the words above will crash like shares in Anglo Irish Bank.
It’s rare for the opening match of a qualifying campaign to be freighted with so much significance, but this is the consequence of hosting your single biggest rival in a qualifying sprint. Ireland’s four-team group means the whole of qualification is only a month longer than the actual World Cup itself.
The most deadening aspect of all these miserable years for the Irish team has been the stillbirth of consecutive qualifying campaigns. Remarkably, Ireland have lost the first two games of each of their last four group campaigns, including the Nations League. A repeat performance this time around is too grim to contemplate. Given we’re certs to qualify for Euro 2028 as co-hosts, we’d be almost two years from another meaningful game.
With Portugal certs to top the group and take the only automatic qualification spot for the World Cup on offer, Ireland will vie with Hungary for second spot, which guarantees a play-off next Spring. Given our lowly status, success in this group would truly be if Ireland can have something real on the line going into the group finale in Budapest in November. All of this rests on at least avoiding defeat tonight.
Players, manager and coaching staff have been off the same hymn sheet all week, stressing that their self-belief comes from the “consistency and clarity” of Hallgrimsson’s messages on the training pitch, and so Ireland are unlikely to dramatically deviate from their game-plan tonight.
That plan is a 4-4-2 without the ball, and a 3-4-2-1 in possession. Some positions pick themselves: Caoimhín Kelleher in goal; Nathan Collins and Dara O’Shea at centre-back; Josh Cullen in midfield; and Evan Ferguson up front. Jake O’Brien and Matt Doherty compete for the right-back slot, where O’Brien’s power on set pieces could swing selection his way.
Doherty is also a contender to play at left-back in Robbie Brady’s absence, along with Liam Scales and Ryan Manning. This selection is the bellweather for Hallgrimsson’s attitude as to whether he needs one point or three. Doherty and Scales are the safer options, as Manning can be accommodated further forward. Pick Manning at left-back, though, and Ireland are bolstering their attack.
Jason Knight is the likeliest to play alongside Cullen in midfield, even though Jack Taylor or Killian Phillips would offer more physicality. There are no fears about Chiedozie Ogbene’s fitness after a long injury lay-off – the man himself says he is back sprinting at around 10 m/s – so he will likely play down Ireland’s right flank.
The next question is to what to do in the attack around Ferguson. Hallgrimsson can pick from creators (Azaz and Manning), dribblers (Johnston and McAteer), and more conventional forwards (Szmodics, Idah, and Johnny Kenny.) Azaz has been an outstanding recent performer for Ireland while Szmodics has more all-round ability, so those with more specialist skills may be preferred off the bench.
The key plank to Ireland’s game-plan will be shutting down Dominik Szoboszlai, who will start as one of Hungary’s two number 10s but will be given licence to roam about as he pleases. He thus cannot be man-marked, and instead Ireland will focus on denying him his most effective space on the edge of the Irish box.
Hallgrimsson, however, has a bigger concern than the Liverpool midfielder.
“It’s an experienced team with a lot of understanding between good individual players”, he says. “For me, that’s what scares me more than individuals, their knowledge of each other, their combination play.”
Ireland must hope Hungary have been together for too long under their coach, Marco Rossi. The Italian, now a Hungarian citizen, has been in charge since 2018 and brought Hungary to each of the two previous Euros, though he has been forced to change styles to stay in the job. With Hungary’s gargantuan State investment into football academies now bearing fruit, Rossi has had to fit them into the squad.
Hence old stalwarts like midfielder Adam Nagy have been sidelined, who is a kind of Hungarian Glenn Whelan: a defensive midfielder whose reputation is enhanced the longer he doesn’t play. Without him, Hungary have therefore become more susceptible on the counter-attack, which partially explains how they were trounced 3-0 at home to Turkyie in March, in a game in which Hungary actually played reasonably well. They are also without midfielder András Schafer tonight, so Hungary may have a soft centre.
They have always played a back three under Rossi, but there are murmurs they are considering a shift to a back four for this game, a scenario Ireland have planned for.
“The system is not what matters”, said defender Attila Szalai at the pre-game press conference. “What counts is how players deal with their tasks and deliver.”
Szobozslai said earlier this week that a draw would be like “gold”, and Rossi agrees that tonight’s game is the clash of the sides likely to vie for second spot. Rossi and Hungary were in Dublin in June of last year, beaten 2-1 in a pre-Euros friendly during John O’Shea’s interim spell.
“We have studied our opponent really well since they changed the coach, we know how they play, we know all the players who have played until now”, said Rossi. “We know also the way which they could play tomorrow. Everything can change – I cannot read the mind of my colleague – but tomorrow I don’t think there will be many surprises on the pitch.
“Ireland are a solid and physical team, they play direct football in general but they can also manage ball possession for some moments in the game. They have five players from the Premier League, one from Serie A, 12 or more from the Championship. We know the intensity of the match will be really high.”
Tonight’s game sold out days ago, and Hallgrimsson has called on everyone going not to simply enjoy the game, but to create the atmosphere. A victory would be Ireland’s biggest win since the win away to Wales in October 2017, which was the last time they beat a side ranked above them in a major tournament qualifying game. That game was in Cardiff, and so the last time Ireland won a qualifier at home to a superior-ranked side was the Euro 2016 play-off victory over Bosnia, almost 10 years ago.
You might say Ireland are due a win, but frankly a draw would be fine, as it would maintain the momentum into which this Irish team have talked themselves.
Ireland (Possible XI): Kelleher; O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Manning; Ogbene, Cullen, Knight, Azaz; Szmodics, Ferguson
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2026 world cup qualifiers big match preview hugnary Republic Of Ireland