The Republic of Ireland and Hungary played out a 2-2 draw at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening in a crucial qualifier for the 2026 World Cup.
After just 16 minutes, it looked as though Ireland’s campaign was over before it even got a chance to begin. The visitors went 2-0 ahead after goals from Roland Sallai and Barnabás Varga, and the Boys in Green stumbled through the rest of the half in a daze.
Heimer Hallgrimsson’s team, however, staged a spirited comeback in the second half. Evan Ferguson scored just after half-time before Sallai received a red card.
6 September 2025; Attila Szalai of Hungary is tackled by Josh Cullen of Republic of Ireland during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F qualifying match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Ireland put Hungary under immense pressure for the rest of the game and went close with several efforts on target. Finally, in the dying minutes, Adam Idah headed home a pinpoint cross from Ryan Manning to rescue a point.
However, there is no doubt that Hungary will be happier with the result, and Ireland missed a golden opportunity to start the campaign with a win.
Following the game, Hungary manager Marco Rossi criticised the referee. Rossi accused the German ref Harm Osmers of allowing the World Cup qualifier to descend into a ‘wrestling match’.
He also said that the official failed to spot a handball by Ireland captain Nathan Collins before Ferguson scored.
🗣️ “You are watching me like I’m saying stupid things”
Hungary manager Marco Rossi absolutely slated the performance of referee Harm Osmer after the draw with Ireland pic.twitter.com/OjbU7r7AHI
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 6, 2025
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In his post-match conference, Hallgrimsson was asked about Rossi’s comments.
The Ireland manager dismissed the remarks. He said that Hungary were lucky not to be punished by the referee for several fouls in the penalty area and for time wasting.
“He’s just pissed,” Hallgrimsson said.
“They were kind of time wasting from the 15th minute, so they can’t complain. They were throwing themselves down, taking lots of minutes every chance they had.
6 September 2025; Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, right, and Hungary head coach Marco Rossi shake hands after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F qualifying match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
“And even though the referee gave them a warning, he didn’t do the same later on in the game, so he was inconsistent in that sense. Absolutely not physical in this game.
“I think in the box, if the referee looked at it again, then VAR would probably say that there were a lot of fouls in the box when we were crossing the ball, but that was not checked.
“So we can complain as well, but listen, if he is pissed, then he’s just pissed.”
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