2026 WORLD CUP GROUP F QUALIFIER
Armenia v Republic of Ireland, Tuesday, Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, 5pm.
ONLINE
Live blog, match report and reaction on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
TV
Live coverage starts at 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.
RADIO
Match commentary on RTÉ’s Radio 1 Extra from 4.55pm with the second half also on 2FM’s Game On.
WEATHER
It’s going to be hot in Yerevan, with forecasts of a high of 31C. It will be dry and calm too, so it’s a game that’s going to really zap the energy supplies.
Switching on early
It was all smiles leaving the Aviva on Saturday given the Republic of Ireland’s stirring comeback against Hungary, but it was a home game that was targeted as a potential win so the pressure cranks up already.
The World Cup opening qualifier was a case of the good, the bad and the very ugly – those opening 15 minutes enough to frighten the bravest of souls as the visitors hit a quickfire double.
Afterwards, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson suggested that Ireland’s slow starts were perhaps a psychological issue.
“In my opinion, more psychological than lack of quality. Like I said, we need to address that,” he said.
“I accept that maybe it’s something in my preparation or how we talk before the game. But it looks like we are losing too many duels in tough situations.”
Slow starts have been a trend in Hallgrimsson’s 10 games in charge.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side have been conceding early goals under his watch
Four times now – Hungary, England, Finland and Bulgaria – the side have fallen behind inside 20 minutes. Bulgaria also hit the front after half an hour in their Nations League play-off second leg in March.
Worryingly, Armenia have scored inside 10 minutes in two of their last three games – Eduard Spertsyan scoring inside the first minute in June’s friendly draw with Montenegro.
One goal may decide it
The Republic of Ireland and Armenia have met four times and all four have been decided by one-goal margins.
Keith Fahey’s first international goal back in a Euro 2012 qualifier also was the first competitive Irish goal scored against Armenia, with Valeri Aleksanyan scoring a comedy own goal and Richard Dunne bundling home to secure a 2-1 win back in Dublin with a play-off place on the line.
Keith Fahey (R) is congratulated after scoring Ireland’s first competitive goal against Armenia
Armenia filed an official protest to UEFA after the game following the 26th-minute sending off of goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky for an alleged deliberate handball outside the box. In a post-VAR world, he’d have been able to play on.
“We’re not going to qualify, no chance,” Eamon Dunphy confidently predicted on RTÉ afterwards, but he maybe should have waited until the draw, when Estonia came out of the hat.
A pair of 2022 Nations League encounters brought a pair of home wins, 1-0 in Armenia, with that man Spertsyan on target, while Stephen Kenny’s side won 3-2 at the Aviva in a madcap game where the hosts needed a last-gasp Robbie Brady strike to avoid red faces against a visiting side that finished with nine men.
GOAL Rep of Ireland 3-2 Armenia
90+1′ Robbie Brady comes to the Irish rescue in injury-team as Stephen Kenny’s side snatch a dramatic win
#IRLARM #COYBIG #NationsLeague
📺Watch https://t.co/1CdVcPa1jr
📻Listen https://t.co/dVJTUVZrzC
📱 Updates https://t.co/ngsO13w1Ii pic.twitter.com/OwJXf3bAAt
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 27, 2022
Green faces to match the jerseys?
Dublin to Yerevan is 4,000 kilometres, plus change, so it’s clear that much of the pre-match preparations will surround having the players – Josh Honohan included after being called up for the injured Sammie Szmodics – physically ready to get to the pitch of the game. After all, scientific research shows that jet-lag can be more extreme when flying east and it’s a very tight turnaround from Saturday’s clash with Hungary.
Ireland’s preparations have already been hit by being forced to train away from the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium as a recent Jennifer Lopez concert damaged the pitch. It’s been alleged that J-Lo’s food budget for the two days was €31,000, certainly enough there to ensure you’re fit to ‘Play’.
The grass has been relaid before the game but it’s still something Dara O’Shea alluded to when saying: “Maybe the pitch isn’t going to be as good as our pitch, but these are all things that we have been used to.”
Armenia on the slide
It’s been a bit of a baptism of fire for new Armenia manager Yeghishe Melikyan.
He’s just in the job over a month and he had little or no time to prepare for the visit of Portugal at the weekend, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice in a 5-0 win.
Conceding goals has been a major problem for the side. Over their last 10 games, a run that has yielded just a single win (a 2-1 victory over Latvia), they have ben breached 29 times.
Over the last year they have fallen outside the top 100 in the world rankings.
In February, John van ‘t Schip took over after a difficult spell with Dutch club Ajax, but his time came to an end in August after four losses from four games.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice against Armenia on Saturday
Spertsyan, who has scored two of his nine international goals against Ireland, will be a threat while the experienced Tigran Barseghyan is another player that will need watching.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, formerly of Manchester United and Arsenal, is long retired despite still starting for Inter Milan in Serie A. He’s indicated that he will hang up the boots for good when his Inter contract comes to an end next year, so there’s no chance of him returning from the wilderness for international duty. He’ll just have to cross paths with Roma’s Evan Ferguson in Italy instead.
Youngster Grant-Leon Ranos has a dozen Bundesliga appearances under his belt already, albeit this season he is on loan with Bundesliga 2 side Kaiserslautern from Borussia Mönchengladbach, and looked decent in a cameo against Portugal. It would not be a shock to see him start.
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Watch Armenia v Republic of Ireland vin World Cup qualifying on Tuesday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live radio commentary on Radio 1 Extra from 4.55pm.