Alas, Hungary fell just short against Ireland in their pursuit to reach their first World Cup qualifiers play-off since 1997. Thus, the next competitive games the national team are playing will be in the UEFA Nations League this fall (with two international friendlies in the spring and the summer, the former two being against Slovenia and Greece).
The Nations League groups draw took place in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday, 12 February.
Hungary will be participating in League B of the competition. There, they got a politically charged clash to fight against Ukraine. One of the main messages of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary’s reelection campaign is his opposition to Kyiv’s EU accession.
On the football pitch, Hungary has not played Ukraine since a 1992 friendly, which was won by Hungary 2–1.
This time, Hungarian fans will likely get to see Anatoliy Trubin in Ukraine’s goal. The Benfica goalie made international headlines after his Hail Mary attempt of coming up for a free kick in search of a last-minute goal needed resulted in him heading a goal against football giants Real Madrid. With that score, Benfica managed to advance from the UEFA Champions League league phase.
The next opponent in the four-team group is Georgia. At Euro 2024 in Germany, it was the Georgians’ upset win over Portugal that stopped Hungary from advancing to the Round of 16 as a third-place finisher in another group—here is the perfect opportunity for some payback. The team’s best-known player is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a winger who is playing for the defending UCL champions Paris Saint-Germain in France at the club level.
Northern Ireland shared a qualifying group with Hungary for Euro 2016. Those are some sweet memories for Hungary fans, as it was the first major international competition Hungary had qualified for in 30 years. Back then, Northern Ireland actually finished above Hungary—this time, that is quite unlikely, given that they were drawn from the weakest pot for the group. Accordingly, their star player is not as impressive as Dominik Szoboszlai in Hungary or the aforementioned Kvaratskhelia in the Georgia squad. The biggest name in the Ulster roster is right-back Conor Bradley, who is Szoboszlai’s teammate at Liverpool, but does not get nearly the same playing time as the Hungary captain.
The first-place finishers of groups in League B win automatic promotion to League A in the next season of the UEFA Nations League. Second-place finishers will have to play a play-off against a third-place finisher in League A for promotion. Likewise, the fourth-place finisher will get directly relegated to League C next season, while the third-place finisher will have to play a play-off against a runner-up finisher in League C to remain in the division.
Perhaps the biggest reason to pay attention to this competition, however, is that it can earn a spot in the Euro 2028 qualifiers play-off, if the ‘traditional’ group qualifying fails for a team. However, only NL group winners—regardless of the division—are eligible for such a lifeline.
The winners of the actual UEFA Nations League trophy are evidently decided among the League A national teams. The current title holder is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
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