Ned Brooks was the first, in 1924. Don Givens did it twice in the same campaign against the old Soviet Union and Turkey in 1974 and ’75. David Kelly did it on his international debut against Israel in 198y. But every one of the first 13 Republic of Ireland international hat-tricks had been scored in Dublin, at either Dalymount Park, Lansdowne Road or the Aviva Stadium. And then there was yesterday.
Troy Parrott, of Sheriff Street in Dublin, just around the corner from Kellie Harrington, had won us all over, scoring two goals to beat Portugal on Thursday night. But then three on Sunday, silencing over 60,000 Hungarian fans desperate for their own World Cup adventure. Sure, they’ll be building statues, never mind writing songs.
If the scriptwriter had been laughed at for throwing a Ronaldo Red Card into the mix in the Portugal game, he would have been checked for hallucinogens for this. One down after three minutes. A penalty and the longest wait over a ball in living memory, the fault of the ref. Then ten minutes to go, and seemingly going nowhere, and the perfect pass from Finn Azaz with the perfect finish from Parrott.
But still, this was heading for another glorious disappointment, rage over the Hungarian goal that was clearly offside and a series of friendly internationals while the world got to party.
Until.
Into the sixth minute of five added, thanks to the double Hungarian substitution. Caoimhin Kelleher from just inside the Hungary half, a long ball forward, John Scales leaping higher than his marker and brushing the ball forward, the tip of Troy Parrott’s studs making enough contact to send the ball into the net, and pandemonium across the land.
This is why sport is such a brilliant thing, such a glorious way to celebrate the joy of being alive, to see and feel the emotion, and to let go of everything.
If it happened in every game, we would be immune, but twice in the space of four days will keep us excited for this team and these players all the way through whatever happens next for the World Cup and into the Euro Qualifications, at the end of which we will only host seven games in Dublin. They will be 50,000 tickets, so hot they’ll scald you.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are dates to know and calculations to understand first.
This Thursday, 20 November 2025, at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland, sixteen European teams will wait for their names to be pulled from pots that could either open a golden path to the World Cup, or present an obstacle course of giants.
It is the draw that determines who must be beaten, where the games will be played, and how smooth — or treacherous — the route to qualification will be.
The play-offs consist of 16 teams, made up of:
The 12 runners-up from the qualifying groups, including the Republic of Ireland and the four best-ranked Nations League group winners who didn’t finish in the top two, including Northern Ireland
The teams will be divided into four separate play-off paths — Path A, B, C and D — each a self-contained mini-tournament. Every path has four teams. Every path will produce one World Cup qualifier. And in every path, the formula is brutally simple: a one-off semi-final, followed by a one-off final. No replays, Extra time and Penalties if needed.
Win both, and you book your ticket to the World Cup. Slip once, and the dream ends instantly.
Seeding adds another layer of drama. The teams are split across four pots. Those in Pot 1 and Pot 2 gain the precious advantage of a home semi-final, to be played on March 26th. Northern Ireland are definitely in Pot 4, the republic are on the cusp between 2 and 3 with that to be determined by the remaining games in the qualification groups over the next two nights. Pot two teams will be at home to pot 3, pot 1 at home to pot 4.
Once the semi-finals are set, the draw continues — determining which semi-final winner will host the final. It’s a small piece of paper, drawn in seconds, but it can be the difference between dreaming in our own stadium or fighting through another hostile away crowd.
So we will know who stands in our way on thursday, then on Monday, December 8th in New York, we will go into the Group draw for the World Cup Finals, as a letter and a pathway rather than under our own name but still, for the first time in a generation.
The past four days have been a magical ride of emotion, lifting the nation, creating heroes and allowing us to dream of yet greater days ahead.
If they come even part of the way towards the emotion unleashed by Troy Parrott’s winner in Budapest we will be a very fortunate group. But that is already in the bank and they can never take it away from us.
Holy moly, but isn’t sport great.
Image Credit: Sport for Business from RTÉ Live Coverage
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