From Tottenham reject to Irish immortality: Troy Parrott’s heroics put Republic of Ireland on the brink of World Cup qualification

Last Updated on 17 November 2025

Portugal were expected to comfortably make the World Cup from Group F while Hungary were the bookies’ favorites to make the play-offs.

However, ex-Spurs star, Troy Parrott had wildly different ideas.

In three days, the 23-year-old lived the wildest dream of any footballer representing a small nation.

Troy Parrott scores 5 goals in 3 days against Portugal and Hungary to produce the impossible

It all began at the Aviva Stadium, in front of tens of thousands of Irish fans on 13th November.

Republic of Ireland hosted the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal and within 17 minutes, they took the lead through Troy Parrott.

The AZ Alkmaar striker headed into the empty net after a wonderful set-piece routine to put the Irish 1-0 up.

On the brink of half-time, Parrott got away from the Portuguese star-studded defense, scoring a wonderful goal to double his side’s lead.

Things got worse for Portugal as Ronaldo was sent off in the second-half and Ireland held on for a special 2-0 win.

Parrott’s brace was pivotal but the Irish still did not dare to dream. Their next match was at the famous Puskas Arena in Hungary. The Hungarians were also fighting for World Cup qualification and were the favorites in front of massive home support.

And within three minutes, the Irish realized their worst fears. Hungary were ahead after a fast start but Parrott was one of the few who did not give up.

He scored a penalty to put Ireland right back in it. However, a wonder strike from Barnabas Vegas knocked the air out of Irish lungs. Yet, their story was not quite over.

Troy Parrott timed his run to perfection at the 80th minute mark, before slotting in to equalize for Republic of Ireland. But there was no extravagant celebration, nothing less than a win would do.

Hungary sat in, confident of seeing it out. But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Troy Parrott scored from close range to complete his hat-trick and put Ireland on the brink of World Cup qualification.

As they say, heroes are made…not born and Troy Parrott definitely is an Irish hero until the end of times.

Troy Parrott quietly rebuilding his career after Tottenham rejection

Coming through academy ranks at Tottenham, Parrott always faced an uphill battle to make it at Spurs.

When he was emerging as a young star, Tottenham already employed two of their all-time greats in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. It was always going to be near impossible to stake a claim for consistent starts ahead of those two.

As a result, his time at Tottenham amounted to nothing more than a handful of appearances and a number of loans to Championship and League One sides.

Until finally, Dutch side, Excelsior, took a punt on him on loan, and he impressed quite a bit, scoring back-to-back hattricks in the relegation play-offs.

That was the turning point of Parrott’s career as AZ Alkmaar took notice of his heroics, paying just under £7 million to Spurs for him. As per Transfermarkt, since joining AZ, Parrott has been on fire, scoring 20 times in the Eredivisie across a season and a half.

Now, with his fantastic one-man show against Hungary and Portugal, Parrott will come under notice for Premier League clubs, as well. Who knows, maybe Spurs offer him a route back to England?