It was at FIFA’s Zürich headquarters on Friday that Hungary Men were drawn from the second pot of seeds to contest European Qualifying Group F, one which will feature two familiar opponents and one less so. Here’s Hungary’s road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA. Will we be able to qualify? And will President Trump attend our matches with Orbán?
Hungary’s road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will start in a four-team European Qualifying group including the winners of the Portugal vs Denmark Nations League play-off tie, as well as familiar recent opponent Republic of Ireland and intriguingly, Armenia, whom Hungary have faced just once in the past, a 2004 friendly in Greece, mlsz.hu wrote.
That fixture came during German World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus‘s reign as Hungary head coach, his largely experimental side winning 2-0 during a winter training camp. Republic of ireland are a much more well-known opponent, Marco Rossi’s squad having faced them twice in friendlies in recent years, a warm-up match held in Újpest prior to the delayed Euro 2020 tournament in June 2021 which ended goalless (as did a previous friendly fixture prior to Euro 2012) being followed by another friendly earlier this year when the Irish triumphed 2-1.
The group’s top seeds, the winner of March 2025’s Nations League play-off between Portugal and Denmark, are also very recognisable to Hungarian fans, and not just because they possess world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo for the former and Christian Eriksen for the latter. Both nations were drawn in the same 2010 World Cup qualifying group as Hungary, two losses against Portugal proving costly as Hungary failed to reached the tournament finals despite a home draw and away victory against Denmark.
Hungary and Portugal have also met in recent EUROs, a pulsating 3-3 draw in 2016 resulting in Hungary’s confirmation as group-stage winners in France, while Portugal gained a measure of revenge by overcoming Hungary 3-0 in Budapest in the 2021 group phase.
Fixture venues, dates and times for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign will be confirmed in due course.
Here are the matches:
- 6 September (Saturday), 8:45 PM: Ireland-Hungary
- 9 September (Tuesday), 8:45 PM: Hungary-Portugal/Denmark
- 11 October (Saturday), 6 PM: Hungary-Armenia
- 14 October (Tuesday), 8:45 PM: Portugal/Denmark-Hungary
- 13 November (Thursday), 6 PM: Armenia-Hungary
- 16 November (Sunday), 3 PM: Hungary-Ireland
Marco Rossi: There is no easy opponent
Hungary Men’s World Cup qualifying opponent from the first pot of seeds, either Portugal or Denmark, will definitely be a tough proposition, according to head coach Marco Rossi, but he’s emphasised there are no easy opponents in international football nowadays anyway.
As well as the winner of the Nations League play-off tie between Portugal or Denmark, European Qualifying Group F will pit Hungary against Republic of Ireland and Armenia during 2025 as Europe’s national teams strive to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“I counted on us getting an extremely strong team from the first pot of seeds, which may well turn out to be Portugal. We know them and are aware of their strength, so while we won’t be the favourites to win, we’ll try to do our best,” Rossi explained. “As for the others, we’ve recently experienced the difficulties of playing against Republic of Ireland. We’re talking about a physically tough team, but as we also know, it’s not easy against anyone away from home, even if the Irish and Armenian national teams may not quite represent the same level as that of the very top nations. Every match will be in the balance – f course it’s important that we’re ahead in the world rankings, but we have to produce our best possible performance in order to prove it on the pitch and overcome these opponents.”
Of the two possible opponents from the first pot of seeds, Rossi has already managed Hungary in a match against Portugal, a 3-0 loss in the group stage of the European Championship in the Puskás Arena in 2021.
“The Portuguese national team has changed a lot since our last match against each other. Several players have been replaced, but we’re still talking about a top team with excellent footballers in every position. In addition, they have Cristiano Ronaldo who is very difficult to stop and is effective not only in Saudi Arabia, but also against the biggest nations for his national team,” Rossi continued, after which he answered the question of which of these two possible opponents he’d choose as an opponent in terms of playing style. “We’re talking about two teams with different styles. The Danes play classic Scandinavian football; they’re physically strong, well organised and also tactically and technically well prepared. They have several excellent players, but I think Portugal are stronger. Therefore, if I had to choose, I would choose Denmark, because Portugal is an even better team than them. Of course, this doesn’t mean we’d have an easy time against Denmark, but knowing their style, we’d have more of a chance against them. However, Portugal’s loss against Georgia meant we were eliminated at this year’s European Championship, so if we’d get them, I’d be happy that we’ll have the opportunity to gain a measure of revenge.”
Read also: