An unimaginable scenario happened in Portugal's group.

Before entering the final round of matches, Portugal led the group with a gap of 2 points over Hungary (10 vs 8). Szoboszlai's team maintained a gap of 1 point over the 3rd ranked team, Republic of Ireland.

That means that a win for Seleccao will guarantee their place in the finals while Hungary and the Republic of Ireland will compete directly for the second place. Hungary only needs a draw while the Republic of Ireland must win on their opponent's field.

In a disadvantageous position, the Republic of Ireland conceded a goal in the 15th minute. Although they equalized, the team fell behind in the 37th minute. With home field advantage, superior force and comfortable mentality, Hungary maintained a 2-1 advantage for nearly the remaining hour.

But the last minutes saw something unbelievable. In the 80th minute, Parrott was still the one to speak up. The striker received a pass from Azaz and finished to tie the score 2-2 for the Republic of Ireland. With a 2-2 draw, Hungary still held the ticket but they were pressured by their opponents.

Hungarian goalkeeper helplessly watched the ball fly into the net

And in the final minute of injury time, the unthinkable happened. The Irish goalkeeper flicked the ball from midfield, Scales tried to put the ball in. Parrott took advantage of the slowness of the Hungarian defender and goalkeeper to tip the ball into the net.

The striker completed his hat-trick. He has scored all five goals for his team in his last two appearances, including two against Portugal and three against Hungary. More importantly, the goal helped Ireland create an extraordinary scenario. From a position almost certain to be eliminated, they came from behind to beat Hungary to take second place from their opponents, thereby advancing to the preliminary round.

The home players were left in tears at the end of the match while the entire Republic of Ireland team hugged and cheered. The team started poorly but a late surge saw them finish second in Group F.

In March next year, the Republic of Ireland will enter the play-off stage. A total of 16 teams will compete for 4 wildcard tickets to join the 12 group winners representing Europe in the finals.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/kich-ban-khong-tuong-xay-ra-o-bang-dau-cua-tuyen-bo-dao-nha-post1796755.tpo