Republic of Ireland vs Hungary Prediction and Betting Tips

The Republic of Ireland and Hungary get underway in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they square off at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. Both sides have been drawn in Group F, alongside Armenia and 2024-25 UEFA Nations League winners Portugal.

The Republic of Ireland were involved in a share of the spoils for the second consecutive game last time out when they played out a goalless draw with Luxembourg in a friendly on June 10.

Before that, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men picked up a 4-2 aggregate victory over Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League playoffs to retain their spot in League B in March before playing out a 1-1 draw with Senegal in their first friendly outing of the year on June 6.

Ireland will be backing themselves to kick off the World Cup qualifying campaign on the right foot as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in their last six meetings since 1969.

Hungary, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last time out when they edged out Azerbaijan 2-1 in their friendly clash at the Liv Bona Dea Arena on June 10.

Marco Rossi’s side had failed to win their previous five matches across all competitions (4L, 1D), a run which saw them relegated to League B of the UEFA Nations League after a 6-1 aggregate loss against Turkey in the relegation/promotion playoffs.

Hungary, who are 38th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will look to continue from where they left off against Azerbaijan last time out and kick off their quest for a first World Cup appearance since 1986.

Republic of Ireland vs Hungary Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

With four wins from the last 13 meetings between the sides, Hungary hold a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture.
The Republic of Ireland have picked up one fewer win in that time, while the spoils have been shared on six occasions.
Ireland are unbeaten in their last six games against Hungary, picking up three wins and three draws since a 4-0 defeat in November 1969.
Hungary have failed to win seven of their last eight competitive matches, losing four and claiming three draws since September 2024.

Republic of Ireland vs Hungary Prediction

Ireland and Hungary will be looking to fly out of the blocks in the qualifiers and we expect both sides to go all out at the Aviva Stadium this weekend. While they are evenly matched on paper, home advantage gives Ireland an extra edge, and we are backing them to extend their recent dominance in this fixture.

Prediction: Republic of Ireland 2-1 Hungary

Republic of Ireland vs Hungary Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Ireland to win

Tip 2: First to score - Ireland (Hungary have conceded the opening goal in five of their last six matches)

Tip 3: Both sides to score - Yes (Ireland have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight of their last nine competitive games)

About the author

Joshua is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda who covers news and match previews. He fell in love with the sport watching Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o win titles at club and international level, and his passion for the sport led him to become a professional football writer. He has an overall professional experience of 5 years.

Joshua supports Chelsea at club level, having witnessed a number of African stars break records with the club. Drogba’s equalizing header and match-winning shootout penalty for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final left a last impact on him. His favorite player is Eden Hazard and favorite manager is Jose Mourinho, who gave him the most joyous days as a Blues supporter. He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is unlucky to be born in Messi’s era and favors the Argentine in the G.O.A.T. debate.

Joshua also follows the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Nigeria Professional Football League and loves to play football during his free time. Having attained a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, he employs his problem-solving skills in crafting articles while doing extensive research to ensure each article is well thought out and crafted.

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