The stadium falls silent and a small group of away fans rises to celebrate what since then has been coined the “miracle of Budapest”. What is seen in Ireland as one of the national team’s greatest modern achievements is being viewed as one of the biggest disasters in Hungarian football and, potentially, a blow to Viktor Orban’s re-election hopes next April. Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban (right), with the president of the Hungarian Football Association, Sandor Csanyi, watching Ireland and Hungary's World Cup qualification match. Tom Mortimer, who has been covering Hungarian football for more than 15 years, says the loss to Ireland felt like the collapse of the government’s grand footballing project. The most egregious case is Puskás Akadémia, whose rapid ascent to the elite of Hungarian football has become an example of how the Fidesz-led government has transformed the sporting landscape.

Source: The Irish Times February 12, 2026 21:08 UTC