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Hungary star’s raging celebration meets nightmarish twist; left devasted as late collapse crushes World Cup dream
Ireland knocked Hungary out of 2026 World Cup contention, with a 3-2 win. Ireland secured a spot in the second round as one of the group runners-up.
Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai assumed World Cup qualifier against Ireland was done and dusted when Barnabas Varga made it 2-1 in the 37th minute. The Liverpool star mocked the Irish team with his celebration, but Lady Luck had other plans, as it came back to haunt him in the end as Ireland fought bcak to knock Hungary out of World Cup contention.
Hungary took the lead in the third minute through Daniel Lukacs, and then Troy Parrott equalised 12 minutes later. Then Varga scored in the 37th minute and in celebration, Szoboszlai pulled out a clown gesture directed towards the Irish fans.
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But then Parrott equalised again, in the 80th minute. Then in stoppage time, Parrott scored again in the 96th minute to send Ireland into the playoff spots.
The match also saw some controversy. Former Ireland international Kevin Doyle was covering the game for RTE Sports, and he lost his cool after Parrott completed his hattrick.
Attacking Szoboszlai, Doyle let out an x-rated rant. He said, "Suck on that you Liverpool c***!"
Europe has 16 berths for the 2026 World Cup in North America. 12 berths will be decided in the first round, with the group winners qualifying directly. Meanwhile, Ireland secured a spot in the second round as one of the group runners-up. Four teams will also join them, and then the top-four sides from playoffs will complete Europe's quota for the World Cup.
Speaking after the win, Parrott said, "This is why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look I love where I'm from, so this means the world to me. My family is here."
"It's the first time I've cried in years as well, I really, really can't believe it. Everyone is crying. I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but this tonight, I don't think I'll ever have a better night in my whole life."
