Recapping Hungary’s Exhibition Football Showdown with Ireland

On June 4th, 2024, Hungary’s national football squad headed to Dublin for an international friendly with the Republic of Ireland. A slow but steady game followed, ending in a late goal that tipped the scales in Ireland’s favor. Strong words have been exchanged since, including some by Hungary manager Marco Rossi.

Preparing for the Euro 2024

The exhibition football match was held in preparation for the Euro 2024, where Hungary will compete with 23 other teams from across the continent. The tournament will broadcast in late June and the first half of July, distributed through national broadcasters in competing regions. It’ll also be available through livestreaming options online, as is common for sports nowadays.

As sports coverage has made its way online, lively betting markets have also become more widely accessible. The Euro 2024 and other upcoming sports events like UFC 303 are big draws for fans who want to place a bet online, like backing the -110 favorite Conor McGregor in McGregor vs Chandler odds. Besides becoming the new home of broadcasting live events, the internet makes it easy for fans to find MMA betting odds, among other sports. As for football, Hungarians can catch the Euro 2024 broadcast from MTVA through their M4 Sport programming.

A Look at the Match

Primarily streamed through Ireland’s nationally owned RTE channel, Hungary’s game in Ireland was a slow burn for most of its runtime. Irish #10 Adan Idah quickly revealed himself as a threat within the game’s first 20 minutes, ending in contact that some tried to call penalty on. That didn’t happen and instead Idah drew first blood 36 minutes into the match, sneaking close to the goal and knocking in the soccer ball from a pass by Ireland’s Will Smallbone (#8).

The Hungarian response was swift, and mirrored Idah’s goal in a lot of ways. Center back Ádám Lang (#2) received the ball from a free kick and like Idah, was uncontested beside the Irish goalposts. Lang kicked the ball into the top left corner, equalizing the score at 1-1. That was 40 minutes into the game, and barring another close call from Idah, the draw carries past half-time.

Defense seemed lackluster for both teams in the first half and could have easily saved either team from those goals. Starting the second half, it’s Hungary’s Roland Sallai (#22) playing aggressive and forcing Ireland’s defense to earn their pay. They do, and the game settles into a stalemate. #20 for Ireland, Striker Troy Parrott, is brought in at 62 minutes into the game.

The second half is even more uneventful than the first, until 80 minutes when Ireland starts making plays and players start getting ill-tempered. A yellow card is handed out after Sammie Szmodics (#15) shouts at the referee.

Three minutes are added to the game and, at 90+2, the Irish squad trick Hungary into overextending down the field. Szmodics and Parrott get a free run at keeper Péter Gulácsi, and they get lucky by looping it into the goal. With that final goal, Ireland took the game at 2-1.

🇮🇪 2-1 🇭🇺
GOAL – Troy Parrott surely snatches victory for Ireland, with a late counter-attacking goal.
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 4, 2024

Marco Rossi Comments on Hungary’s Performance

The loss put an end to the 14-game winning streak that Hungary had been enjoying. After the match, coach Marco Rossi gave his comments on what had been a slow-moving but hard-fought game. Hungary’s last-minute loss disappointed Rossi, saying “It is impossible to concede such a goal in the 92nd minute. We wanted to win, but if you can’t score the winning goal, you have to learn to keep the draw.”

It marks the first defeat for Hungary since September of 2022, which came at the hands of Italy during Nations League semifinals. Rossi added that while he wasn’t happy about the defeat and the end of the streak, “we’re not at England or Germany’s level,” signaling that he’d expected it to end sooner rather than later. With the streak broken, the Hungarian team don’t have that pressure on their shoulders heading into the Euro 2024 tournament this summer.

• read also – Euro 2024: the Hungarian national football team arrived in Germany to a huge crowd – PHOTOS