Why Northern Ireland won't focus on point they need in Hungary

Still the only side in the 2026-27 Nations League yet to concede a goal, Northern Ireland know that one more clean sheet will be enough to secure back-to-back promotions.

After Saturday's 1-0 victory over Ukraine in Belfast, a draw away to Hungary in Budapest on Tuesday night would ensure Michael O'Neill's team top their group and advance to League A for the first time.

With three wins and two draws from their five games played, the visitors to the Puskas Arena are in the box seat in Group B2, but they will travel targeting victory rather than the draw that would suffice.

"We try and win every single game. If you don't, there's no point going," said veteran striker Josh Magennis, who will win a 94th cap should he feature.

"It's a weird [situation], but Michael's already told us that we're going to be set up to win.

"To have that in your back pocket is obviously nice, and the onus is going to be on them, but we're going to win it as much as them."

Northern Ireland were in a similar situation in the Nations League two years ago, albeit in the third tier, when needing a point away against Luxembourg to secure promotion.

They flew out of the blocks and raced into a 2-0 lead, only to allow a Luxembourg comeback in the second half, resulting in a nervy finish for a 2-2 draw.

Shea Charles was captain that night in November 2024 and believes the squad have taken a lesson from their loss of control in the fixture.

"I think we would have learnt from that time," said the Fulham midfielder.

"We were really comfortable in the game and let it slip a little bit.

"But we still came away with the draw and that's all that we needed. I'm really looking forward to it and I think we can go there and put in a good performance."

Charles echoed Magennis' sentiment that the permutations around the result will not alter the way the side approach the game.

He said: "I think we'll still try and go there and win. We know it's going to be a challenge, a very good team and a big crowd, I assume. It'll be tough.

"We've got to go out there and play the way we've been playing."

Sixteen years after his international debut, Magennis is the longest-serving player in O'Neill's squad and the sole survivor from Northern Ireland's only previous win in Budapest.

An unused substitute in the 2-1 victory that kicked off their successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, Magennis believes the squad's changing profile over the years has set them up well to target all three points.

"I've played in a lot of Northern Ireland teams where we've been very reactive to the opposition, trying to nullify them, but this is the type of group where we're able to overpower and overrun games and they'll have to think about us," he said.

Coming into this campaign, Northern Ireland's ability to grind out results beyond Windsor Park had been called into question.

Wins away to Georgia and Ukraine already in this campaign have changed that perception, and Magennis feels Hungary - one point behind Northern Ireland - will know the visitors are not to be underestimated.

"If they don't show us the respect that we deserve, then it'll be at their own peril, and they'll learn the hard way come 90 minutes when we take the three points," added the Stevenage striker.

"If they don't account for our running power, our physicality, our set-pieces, all that type of stuff, then that's down to them.

"We only play the team that's in front of us, but we'll go into it fully [prepared]."