Republic of Ireland assistant manager John O’Shea says they must show “steeliness and determination” if they are to start their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with victory over Hungary at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Ireland begin their Group stage with back-to-back fixtures – at home to Hungary before travelling to face Armenia on Tuesday – and O’Shea believes the squad are in their best place in years.

“In terms of the group and what the majority of this squad has experienced now – having tough games and qualifications under our belt, realising what it takes – it’s about stepping up and getting across the line,” O’Shea said.

“Listen, we know Hungary will have the same ideas to get off to a fast start in the group. We have to match that, it’s as simple as that, and go above it.”

Hungary, who have been impressive in recent campaigns, travel to Dublin with star man Dominik Szoboszlai expected to play a central role.

“You have to have an awareness of him. He’s not just a shooter of the ball – he’s got a great range of passing. But it’s not just his threat; they have others as well,” O’Shea cautioned.

“They have a good counter-attacking threat, particularly through their wing-backs, but we know we can cause them problems too.”

The Waterford man stressed the importance of momentum in qualification.

“Ideally, you want teams chasing you rather than to be the chaser. When you have a home game starting off, we always back ourselves to get off to that good start.”

Looking at the broader picture, he underlined the significance of this campaign for a squad that has matured together.

“There’s no time like the present for these boys to step up and make a country that’s already proud of them even more proud – and that’s by qualifying for a tournament.”

Ireland face Hungary on Saturday evening before a quick turnaround to play Armenia away on Tuesday, with The Boys in Green aiming to seize early control of their World Cup qualifying group.