Hungary vs Ireland live: Parrott grabs stunning winner to send Irish into World Cup play-off

A tearful Troy Parrott saluted the Republic of Ireland’s resilience after his brilliant hat-trick kept their World Cup dream alive in dramatic fashion.

The 23-year-old AZ Alkmaar striker, who scored both goals in Thursday night’s remarkable 2-0 win over Portugal, fired Ireland into second place in Group F and March’s play-offs with a winner deep into stoppage time as they twice fought back from a goal down to beat Hungary 3-2 in Budapest.

Parrott, who had earlier converted a 15th-minute penalty and equalised with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, told RTE: “I’m really, really emotional. They’re tears of joy. Ah, what a night, what a night.”

Troy Parrott scored a superb hat-trick as the Republic of Ireland snatched a World Cup play-off place from Hungary’s grasp with a dramatic 3-2 win in Budapest.

Parrott cancelled out Daniel Lukacs’ early header from the penalty spot and levelled for a second time after Barnabas Varga’s stunning first-half strike.

He then snatched an unlikely victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time on a day when only three points were enough for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men to keep their dream alive.

The World Cup qualifiers are almost complete but for several countries an anxious wait remains before the full line-up for next summer’s tournament is confirmed.

There will be 16 European teams who advance to March’s play-offs, which will take place after the World Cup group-stage draw is conducted in December. There are then just four more spots in the tournament.

Troy Parrott’s stunning last-minute winner against Hungary sent the Republic of Ireland through to a play-off behind group winners Portugal, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also assured of a play-off spot at the very least.

The play-offs will be played in single-leg knockout matches, with the draw determining the path. The 16 teams will be draw into four sets of four, leaving each nation two wins away from the World Cup.

More from Troy Parrott: “I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but I think tonight, I will never have a better night in my whole life.

“It is a fairytale. You can't even dream about something like that.

“I have no words to describe the emotions right now.”

Incidentally, Parrott was given a yellow for whipping off his shirt to celebrate, but he’s unlikely to be that bothered, I reckon.

A delighted Troy Parrott tells RTE Sport: “I am really emotional right now. What a night.

“This is why we love football, things like this can happen.

“I love where I am from and it means the world to me.

“My family are here, and this is the first time I have cried in years! I really can't believe it.”

Ireland will find out their European play-off opponents on Thursday 20 November, with the draw at Fifa HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.

Ireland finish second in Group F and therefore advance to a two-legged play-off in March, the final obstacle to their first appearance at a World Cup finals since 2002.

Portugal qualify automatically as group winners.

For Hungary - the better side for the vast majority of that game - it’s heartbreak at the death. Their most recent appearance at a World Cup was in 1986 and they’ll have to wait a while longer to rectify that.

They finish third and out of contention, with Armenia dead last.