Preview:Hungary vs Armenia - prediction, team news, lineups

Still searching for their first victory in 2026 World Cup qualifying, Hungary welcome Armenia to the Puskas Arena in Budapest for their third Group F fixture on Saturday night.

This contest represents just the second ever meeting between these two nations since Hungary secured a 2-0 friendly win on home soil back in February 2004.

Match preview

Hungary already face an uphill battle to qualify for their first World Cup in four decades after collecting only one point from their opening two qualification matches against Republic of Ireland and Portugal last month.

Nemzeti Tizenegy let a two-goal lad slip with 10 men to draw 2-2 with Ireland on matchday one, and they came close to drawing by the same scoreline against Portugal, only for Joao Cancelo to net an 86th-minute winner to condemn Marco Rossi’s side to a 3-2 home defeat.

Ranked 41st in the world by FIFA, Hungary have only won two of their last 12 international matches in all competitions (D4 L6) and Rossi has warned his team that Saturday’s opponents Armenia “can deliver a surprise”, even though they are ‘on paper, weaker than us’.

Aware that they can ill-afford to drop too many more points if they wish to secure a top-two finish in Group F, Hungary have struggled on home soil in recent internationals, as they have failed to win any of their last six matches in Budapest, with three draws followed by three defeats.

Hungary will at least take comfort from the fact that Armenia have only won one of their last 12 internationals away from home (D3 L7) and are ranked 62 places below them in the FIFA World Rankings.

John van 't Schip was sacked in August after less than six months in charge of Havakakan and new head coach Yegishe Melikyan has since experienced two contrasting results in World Cup qualifying, with a heavy 5-0 defeat to Portugal followed by a much-needed 2-1 home triumph over Republic of Ireland last month.

The latter result ended a five-match winless run for Armenia, who will now attempt to claim consecutive victories in competitive games for the first time since June 2023 as well as consolidate their top-two position in Group F, with two points currently separating themselves from both Hungary and Ireland.

Armenia have never qualified for a major international tournament as an independent nation, and although they will head into Saturday’s contest against Hungary as underdogs, captain Tigran Barseghyan has insisted that he and his teammates “will not walk onto the pitch with raised hands” and intend to “fight until the end”.

Hungary World Cup qualifying form:

D L

Hungary form (all competitions):

L L L W D L

Armenia World Cup qualifying form:

L W

Armenia form (all competitions):

L L L D L W

Team News

Hungary will have to cope without attacking duo Roland Sallai and Barnabas Varga as they are both suspended. The former was sent off on matchday one against Ireland and the latter is absent due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

In the absence of both players, Rossi may consider using Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai as a false nine, with Zsolt Nagy and Bendeguz Bolla providing support from the flanks as Andras Schafer, Callum Styles and Alex Toth all compete for starts in centre-midfield.

As for Armenia, winger Edgar Sevikyan has withdrawn from the squad due to injury, while it remains to be seen whether playmaker Lucas Zelarayan - who plies his trade a club level with Argentinian side Belgrano - will be ready to start as he only joined up with the camp for training on Friday.

Eduard Spertsyan has scored 10 international goals, more than any other Armenian in the current squad, and he is expected to start in midfield alongside Ugochukwu Iwu and potentially Zelarayan, while Borussia Monchengladbach’s Grant-Leon Ranos will hope to continue up front alongside Tigran Barseghyan.

Hungary possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Nego, Orban, Szalai, Kerkez; A. Toth, Schafer, Styles; Bolla, Szoboszlai, Z. Nagy

Armenia possible starting lineup:

Cancarevic; Hovhannisyan, Mkrtchyan, Piloyan, Muradyan, Tiknizyan; Spertsyan, Iwu, Zelarayan; Ranos, Barseghyan

We say: Hungary 2-1 Armenia

Both nations will be aware of the importance of Saturday’s fixture as they attempt to strengthen their hopes of finishing in the top two of Group F. Although Hungary are lacking options in the final third, they should still have enough attacking quality in their side to outscore an Armenian outfit who have looked vulnerable at the back.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.