Our prediction for this match:
Hungary take on Ireland at Szusza Ferenc Stadion in their last friendly before the 2020 European Championship finals. Hungary are eyeing their fourth consecutive win in all competitions, and they are surely capable of beating Ireland, who have been struggling in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Since this will be the last test for the hosts before their EURO opener, we are positive that head coach Marco Rossi is going to field the best possible side this time out.
Leipzig defender Willi Orban is widely expected to return to the starting XI. The Boys in Green did well to beat Andorra 4-1 in their last warm-up game, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry in Tuesday’s clash against Hungary, who will be one of the hosts at the upcoming showpiece tournament. All Clark, Stevens, Browne, O’Dowda, Long, Clark, and Hendrick have been left out of the Ireland squad.
Highlighted Player (Willi Orban):
Willi Orban was born on 3 November, 1992 in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Orban plays as a centre back, but he can operate as a defensive midfielder as well. The 185-cm-tall footballer is a product of Kaiserslautern’s youth academy and he played 35 league games for the reserve team between 2011 and 2013.
Orban made his debut for the first team in 2011, against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. The Kaiserslautern footballer made 68 league appearances for Kaiserslautern, scoring 7 goals for the German outfit between 2011 and 2015, but in May 2015 he signed a contract with Leipzig. Kaislerslautern fans were very angry with the defender when he decided to join die Bullen.
Willi Orban has two caps for Germany U21, but he has yet to make his debut for the senior team. He has a contract with Leipzig, which expires on 30 June, 2019. Willi Orban has a dual citizenship (Germany, Hungary).
Highlighted Team (Ireland):
Competing as an independent entity since 1953, Republic of Ireland have struggled to match the world’s best national teams ever since, although they did achieve several respectable results on the road. Their best ever result, the 1990 World Cup quarter-final, was achieved with a big smile from Lady Luck seeing that the Irish reached the last eight without winning a single match.
They have since reached the last 16 stage at the 1994 and 2002 tournaments, while only qualifying for three European Championship finals (1988, 2012, 2016). The Irish were in the top 10 of the FIFA Rankings in 1993 and 1994, but have failed to repeat the success in the next twenty odd years, and it appears they are no closer to bridging the gap behind European powerhouses.
Robbie Keane holds the record for most national team caps and goals at the same time, having bagged 67 in 143 appearances, whereas Niall Quinn, Steve Staunton, Damien Duff, Tony Cascarino and Don Givens are some of the other star players.