EM test match, Tuesday, 04.06.2024
Because the upcoming opponent of the DFB team is in impressive form and quite capable of causing a small surprise at the European Championship. In my Ireland-Hungary betting tip, I’m predicting a possible one-nil win for the hard-working “Magyars.”
Hungary could be one of the surprises of this Euro 2024 and advance from Group A together with the Germans – perhaps even to first place ahead of the DFB team.
The Eastern Europeans fly under the radar of most soccer fans, but my betting friends and I have a lot of respect for this selection.
In any case, Dominik Szoboszlai and all the other key players with enormous potential, such as Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth) and Roland Sallai (SC Freiburg), will also be involved in the dress rehearsal against Ireland and Israel.
On paper, these are the only established superstars of the Magyars, but what they can’t make up for in talent, they make up for in a high degree of team unity
The Hungarian line-up is solid, although I feel it lacks some depth in defense, as Attila Szalai and Willi Orbán are the only two defenders currently under contract with a club in Europe’s top five leagues.
But as I said, this team is tactically perfectly matched – and the upcoming opponents will not be able to exert the maximum pressure on the back line like Germany, for example, in a few weeks’ time.
Ireland is simply not a soccer nation like its neighbor England, for example. The “Boys in Green” have only taken part in 3 of the 17 European Championships to date and have not been to a World Cup since 2006
A very dark age has dawned for Irish soccer. The national team has won just two competitive matches against tiny Gibraltar since the start of the 2023 calendar year.
A major problem for the “Boys in Green”, which interim coach John O’Shea must address as quickly as possible, is to significantly increase the output of the offense.
Watch out: In the period just mentioned, the men from the Emerald Isle have never managed to score more than one goal per game, with the exception of the two games against Gibraltar
The Irish have not named an attacker for next Tuesday who is older than 23 and has played at least three international matches. There is therefore a lack of reliable goalkeepers like Robbie Keane once was.
Adam Idah is certainly Ireland’s biggest striker talent at the moment, but the Celtic Glasgow man has only scored 3 goals in 28 appearances for the Irish so far.
In my opinion, there is a good chance that the busy Hungarian defense could make it a priority to play to nil against this opponent. Especially as a clean sheet just before the start of the tournament could boost their confidence
What convinces me even more about the Hungarians than their line-up are their results. The European Championship participants have not lost a competitive match since October 2022 and have even managed to hold their own against stronger nations over this long period.
After all, Hungary have faced several European Championship participants such as Serbia (2:1), the Czech Republic (1:1) and Turkey (1:0) since the fall of 2023 and have impressed across the board
Ireland defend much better than they manage to score goals. In any case, only one of their last six international matches has produced more than 2.5 goals.
Consequently, I strongly suspect that the Hungarians could end up with a narrow 1-0 or even 2-0 victory.
Since I consider a 0:0 and a 1:1 to be the two most likely outcomes after the two just mentioned, you could cover all four scenarios at the same time with a corresponding under 2.5 goal bet at odds of around 1.58.
With all the interesting European Championship bonus offers doing the rounds on the betting markets these days, my undivided attention is primarily focused on the Ireland Hungary odds.
The bookmakers are offering almost identical odds of around 2.65 for one of the two sides to win, but I find this decision difficult to understand.
The Hungarians are close to the desired operating temperature, while the Irish seem to be running out of steam under interim coach O’Shea. Apart from the home advantage, there’s little in the Boys in Green’s favor in my eyes
In terms of direct comparisons, these two nations have drawn 0-0 in their last two international matches together.
However, it’s been over three years since they last played together and, as we know, Hungary have developed into a Nations League contender in that time, capable of holding their own in League A.
Conclusion: With an impressive run and a wave of success meters high, the Hungarian fans who travelled with them should be looking forward to a trip to Dublin on Tuesday night.
Remarkably, the Eastern Europeans have not suffered defeat in any of their previous 14 consecutive appearances in all competitions, which is why the oddsmakers should have assigned them the clear favorites.
While Ireland drew 0-0 in June 2021 when they visited Budapest, the Magyars should be able to prevail this time by a narrow but deserved margin.
My Hungary Ireland tip: Under 2.5 goals
