World Cup Qualifier: On the Verge of Play-Offs After Win in Yerevan

The Hungarian national football team won 1-0 on Thursday as guests of the Armenian team in the World Cup qualifying match in Yerevan, tightening their hold on a World Cup play-off. The result sets up a decisive home match for Hungary against Ireland on Sunday.

The national team took the lead in the 33rd minute with a header from Barnabás Varga and maintained their narrow advantage in the second half.

Marco Rossi, coach of the Hungarian national football team, was happy with the 1-0 victory, but not with the performance of his team.

Although we achieved what we wanted in the first half, dominating the game and taking the lead, in the second half, for some reason, everything changed. Of course, you cannot put pressure on your opponent for 90 minutes, but at the same time, you should not fall back so much. It was our worst half in the current World Cup qualifiers,”

said the Italian coach. “Although their two biggest chances were the result of our mistakes, the final score could have been different than 1-0,” he added.

Barnabás Varga (c) scoring with a header. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt

Rossi also said that they tried to give instructions from the bench to help the players, who nevertheless were unable to keep possession of the ball, and this was the most fundamental problem, for which he took responsibility. According to the 61-year-old coach, although the opponent had improved considerably, it was not so much the Armenians’ play that surprised him, but rather the performance of his own players, who were unable to keep possession of the ball and maintain the intensity they had shown in the first half.

I am happy, but only because of the victory, not because of the performance. This is a serious milestone, after all, Hungarian football has an extremely rich history,”

he told MTI after the match.

Hungarian fans at the Armenia-Hungary match. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt

This was Marco Rossi’s 81st match as Hungarian national team coach, setting a new record. The previous record was held by Lajos Baróti, who sat on the national team bench a total of 117 times over two periods. In this regard, he said: “I am not at the level of Gusztáv Sebes or Lajos Baróti, but I took over the job at a very difficult time and obviously did not keep this position for more than seven years because of my good looks.”

The Armenian coach, Yeghishe Melikyan, believed that the Hungarians had been neutralized by thoroughly analyzing the play of Dominik Szoboszlai and Barnabás Varga, as well as the excellent relationship between them on the field, which is why, apart from the one situation that led to a goal, the Hungarians had hardly any chances during the ninety minutes.

“We are struggling with a number of problems, but this second half was our best in this qualifying series, so despite the difficulties, we can now look ahead positively,” said Melikjan, who was satisfied with his team’s performance.

The Portuguese national football team lost 2-0 in Ireland on Thursday, hence Sunday’s final round will decide which team will qualify for next year’s World Cup and which will go into the play-offs from Group F of the European qualifiers. For Hungary, currently in second place and eligible for the play-offs, the match against Ireland in Budapest will be decisive.

The equation was simple for the Portuguese: another victory would have secured their place in the World Cup, and Hungary, who triumphed in Armenia, would finish second in the quartet and qualify for the play-offs.

Due to Portugal’s defeat, the Hungarians have not yet secured second place and a spot in the playoffs.

Rossi’s team will qualify for next year’s World Cup if they defeat the Irish at the Puskás Arena on Sunday and the Portuguese lose to the visiting Armenians. However, the team could also slip back to third place in the group – and thus miss out on the play-offs – if the Irish win in Budapest. In all other cases, the Hungarians will finish second and can prepare for the play-offs in March. In the event of a tie, goal difference will decide the outcome.

The Hungarians last qualified for the World Cup in 1986.

The group standings are as follows: