Nathan Collins believes the cup final nature of Sunday’s fixture against Hungary will help Ireland refocus from Thursday night’s stirring victory over Portugal.
Ireland enter the last round of Group F games in third place with seven points, behind Hungary on eight and Portugal on 10. For Ireland to leapfrog Hungary, the sums are simple – it’s win or bust in Budapest.
“I think it’s good that it’s simplified it for us. We just need to win, nothing else, no other strings attached, just go win a match, a game of football,” said Collins.
“We have to take confidence from [the win over Portugal]. It’ll be a completely different game, completely different team, away from home, it’s a bit different again but we have a threat, we know what we have to do and it’s simple now, it was so complicated for us before but now it’s simple enough.”
RM Block
The Ireland captain was one of the defensive pillars in an outstanding display by Ireland on Thursday night at the Aviva.
Collins has repeatedly banged the drum of his belief this Ireland side could deliver a landmark performance against a leading nation but until this week the team’s results hadn’t matches their captain’s confidence.
“I’ve said it before, I always thought we had this in us and that’s the most frustrating part when we lose because we know we have this in us.”
If Collins was one of those leading the defensive line on Thursday, there is no doubt who Ireland’s key player was at the other end of the pitch. Despite making his senior debut in 2019, Thursday felt like a breakout night for Parrott as he scored Ireland’s two goals in what will long be remembered as a special night in the stadium’s history.
“I felt emotions scoring those goals that I’ve never felt before, I don’t even have the words to describe them,” said Parrott.
“I had a big night. I’m not frustrated with the past. It is still frustrating that I’ve had to wait a long time for a night like this, but it just goes to show I have a lot of belief in myself. To see it pay off is really special.”
Of course the most important game is always the next one, and for Ireland that fixture comes just three days after the win over Portugal. And the reward for Thursday’s victory is the challenge of picking up a win in Budapest to keep Ireland’s World Cup dreams alive.
“I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but I think Sunday now is probably the biggest game,” said Parrott.
“We gave ourselves a good chance to get into that second spot, so now all the focus is on Sunday.”
