WALES welcome Group E rivals Hungary to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night in the knowledge that a win will seal their place at next summer’s European Championships.
Ryan Giggs’ side currently sit in third place, one point adrift of the visitors, who know that they must also pick up with up three points, with a draw likely to see them tied on points with Slovakia, who would advance with the better head-to-head record.
It was Hungary who came out on top in the reverse fixture back in June, with Mate Patkai’s 80th-minute goal securing a 1-0 win for the Magyarok.
That result left Ryan Giggs’ men with just three points from their opening three fixtures, and their qualification hopes looked bleak after also losing to Croatia in Osijek.
However, they have been unbeaten since, picking up eight points from a possible twelve – including an impressive 2-0 win in Azerbaijan on Saturday – to set up Tuesday night’s winner-takes-all clash.
Goals from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson put Wales in a comfortable position in Baku, and they were able to manage the game professionally, taking Gareth Bale off early and giving valuable game time to Aaron Ramsey.
Since the win against Wales in Budapest, Hungary have gone on to lose four of their last five games, with their only win being a narrow 1-0 success against lowly Azerbaijan.
Head coach Marco Rossi will be without three of his regular defenders, who are all missing through injury, and will be concerned by his side’s record on the road. They have won just once in their previous 11 away games in all competitions.
While the two sides are in the best position to qualify, fourth-placed Slovakia know that should either team fail to pick up three points, they can take advantage with a win against Azerbaijan.
