Ireland headed to Hungary on Sunday knowing only a win would be enough to keep their World Cup dream alive after trailing the Hungarians by a point before kick-off.
A nightmare start for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side saw Hungary take the lead inside three minutes as Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szboszlai set up Daniel Lukacs for an early opener.
Ireland leveled just twelve minutes later when Parrott restored parity from the penalty spot. Chiedozie Ogbene was brought down in the penalty area as VAR awarded the penalty, which Parrott blasted home.
IRELAND HAS DOED THE IMPOSSIBLE!
Troy Parrott’s hat-trick has led Ireland to a famous comeback win in Budapest! Playoffs here we come 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/OBOrgTvbf0
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 16, 2025
Caoimhín Kelleher kept Ireland in it with a brilliant save from Roland Sallai, but a sublime goal from Barnabas Varga restored Hungary’s lead before half-time. Ireland needed two goals to win and hope seemed to disappear when Adam Idah had a goal disallowed for offside.
However, Parrott’s second of the match gave The Boys in Green a lifeline as he produced a fine finish over Denes Dibusz with ten minutes to go. Hope restored, Ireland looked for a winner and found it in the final seconds.
Parrott latched onto Liam Scales’ header and poked past Dibusz, sparking wild celebrations from the Irish contingent.
The win means Ireland finishes second to Portugal and secures a place in the World Cup play-offs.
For Parrott, who only days ago called his brace in the 2-2 draw against Portugal the ‘best night of my life’, he now has one to come back from.
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