Below-par England were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Hungary amid crowd trouble at Wembley on Tuesday, meaning a nervy penultimate qualifier with Albania awaits in November if they are to secure automatic passage to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Hungary had been beaten 4-0 by England last month but took the lead when Luke Shaw's high boot allowed Roland Sallai to score from the penalty spot (24) and a back-post finish from John Stones (37) was required to pull the hosts level.
Raheem Sterling headed against a post on the stroke of half-time as England began to find their stride but despite dominating the second period and seeing good chances passed up by Sterling and Harry Kane - who was surprisingly substituted with 15 minutes to play - there was no way through for Gareth Southgate's side.
Earlier, Hungary supporters - who had been punished for racist abuse of England players when the sides met in September - booed the home side taking a knee, held up a banner against the gesture for equality, fought with police in the stands, and released a flare when they scored. One arrest was made for a racially aggravated public order offence following comments made towards a steward.
Hungary had seen their own chances of reaching Qatar diminish since losing to England, with Albania beating them home and away, but their draw at Wembley means Group I leaders England realistically need to beat Albania at Wembley on November 12 before their final group game against minnows San Marino.
As England's players took a knee and Hungary's players pointed to the 'Respect' badge on their shirt sleeves before kick-off, Hungary supporters booed and held up a banner rejecting the statement, in a reminder of the ugly scenes that took place when these sides met in Budapest last month, when there was a similar response and Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were racially abused.
Moments after the match started there were then clashes between riot police and Hungarian fans, who were able to support their side in London despite UEFA forcing Hungary to play behind closed doors at home for two games because of events during that England clash.
Regardless of the distractions of the away end, England's players stayed focused on the pitch, with Kane sliding a shot wide from Shaw's cross, Phil Foden impressing in a deeper midfield role, and Grealish hitting the target himself.
But that promising start was swiftly undone when Shaw's unnecessary high-boot challenge on Loic Nego as the Hungarian was running out of the penalty area gave the visitors the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot - and Sallai sent Jordan Pickford the wrong way to do just that.
England had a good shout for a penalty of their own as they searched for an instant response amid the fog of green from a Hungarian supporter's flare, but referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez waved play on when Kane was caught from behind by Attila Szalai.
The home side were level eight minutes before the break, though, with Stones poaching at the back post to convert Foden's flicked-on free-kick for his first England goal since his double in the 2018 World Cup win over Panama.
They will have felt they should have been in front, too, with Grealish twice crowded out after exciting surges into the box and Sterling heading against a post on the stroke of half-time.
Sterling raced onto a fine Foden pass soon after the restart but was unable to find Grealish with his cross before Kane bent a shot on target, and Stones headed just wide from a corner as England pressed for a second.
Grealish was less than impressed to be replaced soon after but Bukayo Saka's introduction allowed England to go to a 3-4-3, although it was combination play between Kane and Sterling which brought the next chance, with the Man City man denied from a one-on-one by a good stop from Peter Gulacsi.
It was then Kane's turn to miss a good opening, blazing over the bar when a deflection put him clear in the box. It was his last involvement, too, as Southgate raised eyebrows by replacing his captain with Tammy Abraham with just under 15 minutes to play.
Hungary replacement Filip Holender sent a rare second-half chance for the visitors over the bar after Saka was caught in possession but the hosts were piling forward by the end, with Gulacsi punching away a Saka cross before Shaw's shot into the ground was diverted just off target by an offside Abraham.
However, there was to be no winner - and suddenly England's command of the group doesn't look quite as assured.
2021 World Cup qualification Europe
1-1
Line-ups
England XI: Walker, Kane, Pickford, Sterling, Stones, Shaw, Grealish, Mings, Mount, Rice, Foden
Subs: Henderson, Trippier, Coady, S. Johnstone, Ward-Prowse, Tomori, O. Watkins, Abraham, Chilwell, Ramsdale, Sancho, Saka
Hungary XI: Gulacsi, L. Négo, Lang, Z. Nagy, Á. Kecskés, R. Sallai, Nagy, Attila Szalai, A. Schäfer, D. Szoboszlai, S. Schön
Subs: A. Bogdán, N. Nikolić, R. Varga, B. Vécsei, J. Hahn, D. Gazdag, F. Holender, D. Salloi, B. Bolla, B. Balogh