Ireland vs Hungary: Where to watch, kick-off time, team news, players to watch and more

Ireland get their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign underway this weekend with a home game against Hungary in Dublin.

The Boys in Green will be looking to qualify for next year's World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico which would be their first major tournament since Euro 2016 in France. Their wait for a World Cup appearance has now stretched to over two decades since the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. 

Hungary will be looking to reach their first World Cup tournament since 1986. The Hungarians are 22 places above Ireland in the latest FIFA World Rankings but have only won once in their last six outings. The two sides played in a friendly in June 2024 at the Aviva which Ireland won 2-1 which should give the Irish confidence ahead of the opening clash on Saturday. 

It will be vital for Ireland to get off to a good start during this international break with a home game against Hungary and Armenia away proving their best opportunity for points before they face the daunting task of facing UEFA Nations League winners Portugal in October as part of the four-team group F. 

Portugal will be heavy favourites to win the group so it should be a straight battle between Ireland, Hungary and Armenia to secure a spot in the playoffs and give themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup.

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Ireland come into the game in good form having only lost one of their last six games including three wins. Ireland Boss Heimir Hallgrimsson will be hoping Ireland can take that resilient form into the new qualifying campaign as Irish fans dream of another major tournament appearance. 

When is the game on?

Ireland will play Hungary on Saturday night, September 6 with kick off slated for 7:45pm in the Aviva Stadium. 

Where can I watch it?

The game will be shown live on RTÉ 2 with coverage starting from 7pm.

Joanne Cantwell will be joined Didi Hamann and Richie Sadlier to oversee proceedings at the Aviva Stadium whilst match commentary will be provided by Darragh Moloney and Ronnie Whelan. 

Are Tickets still available? 

Unfortunately, tickets for the Hungary game are now sold out. Fans can instead keep an eye out for when tickets go on sale for the home games against Portugal and Armenia during the upcoming qualifying campaign to support the Boys in Green.

What is the team news?

The big news for Ireland is the absence of Troy Parrott who has been in scintillating form with 10 goals in 7 games for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. Celtic striker Johnny Kenny has been brought into the squad to replace Parrott as he joins Stoke defender Bosun Lawal in receiving their first international call-ups.

New Swansea signing Adam Idah and Roma loanee Evan Ferguson are likely to lead the line. Irish stalwarts Robbie Brady and Seamus Coleman also miss out through injury. 

Gavin Bazunu returns to the squad following a knee injury and will once again battle for the number one jersey with Brentford's Caoimhin Kelleher.

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Hungary's head coach Marco Rossi will be hoping to turn his sides recent poor form around as he welcomes four uncapped players into the squad in the form of Barna toth, Bence Otvos, Rajmund Molnar and Daniel Lukacs. 

Barnabas Varga is expected to start up front for Hungary following his brilliant start to the season scoring 10 goals in 11 games for Ferencvaros who are managed by Ireland's record goal scorer Robbie Keane. 

Veteran Willi Orban is expected to start in defence along with Liverpool's Milos Kerkez. 

Who are the players to watch? 

Evan Ferguson looks to be getting back to his best in new surroundings in the Italian capital following his loan move from Brighton to Roma. The 20-year old struggled in his loan spell with West Ham last season but has shown early glimpses of the form which excited Irish fans when playing for Brighton as a youngster. 

The Meath man was Roma's man of the match in their opening day victory over Bologna before providing the assist for the winner in their second game against Pisa. Ferguson settling in and making a strong early impression in Italy is great news for Ireland as his form will be a major factor if Ireland can score the goals to get them into playoff contention starting this weekend. 

Captain Dominik Szoboszlai is a talismanic figure for the Hungary national team. The Liverpool midfielder has started the season in fine form scoring the winner against rivals Arsenal last weekend with a sumptuous free-kick to secure all three points. 

Szoboszlai is very much the heart of the Hungary team imposing his quality to make those around him better. Of their last 54 goals scored, The midfielder has contributed 16 of them making up 29.6% of the teams total goal output in that time. This signifies his importance within the team and if Hungary are to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup next year then Szoboszlai will be an absolutely integral part in achieving that. 

The performances of Ferguson and Szoboszlai along with how the opposition deals with them will go a long way to deciding the outcome of this weekend's opening game as both sides set their sights firmly on qualification for next year's major tournament in North America.