Well there goes that dream.
Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup look to be all but over after a disastrous 2-1 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan.
Caoimhin Kelleher – 7
The Brentford stopper could not have done much for Armenia’s goals, and was the reason Ireland didn’t ship three or four.
Made a great one-on-one stop in the second half.
Jake O’Brien – 3.5
After a fine game on Saturday, he did not have close to the same impact down the wing this evening.
Was shocking for Armenia’s second when he completely tuned off to his surroundings, allowing the home side to get in behind him.
Nathan Collins – 4
Mixed a lot of good with a fair bit of bad….. and worse.
Saved a goal in the first half with a superb block but also gave away the penalty after a clumsy foot brought Tigran Barseghyan down.
Dara O’Shea – 3
The Ipswich captain incredibly poor throughout the game .
It was hard to have any confidence in his partnership with Collins, and his passing left a lot to be desired.
Jack Taylor – 4
Nearly scored in the first half to put his side in front.
Other than that his mistakes were frequent, and along with the rest of the midfield, failed to put any sort of stamp on the game.
Josh Cullen – 4
Another nothing performance from Cullen and the men closest to him.
No creativity on the ball, and no pressure off it.
Jason Knight – 4
Cleverly left the ball for Evan Ferguson’s goal.
Other than that, see above.
Finn Azaz – 4
His starring performances in the wins against Bulgaria in March are starting to look like a fluke.
Was disappointing against Hungary and worse tonight.
Chiedozie Ogbene – 5
Was one of Ireland’s better players when he was on.
Still not fully match fit and was brought off for Kasey McAteer at half-time.
Ryan Manning – 4
Like O’Brien, followed up an encouraging performance against Hungary with one of his worst against Armenia.
His highlight was a decent shot on goal in the second half as Ireland chased an equaliser.
Evan Ferguson – 6
Clearly Ireland’s best outfield player.
Nearly opened the scoring early on, although he arguably should have squared the ball to Jack Taylor.
Took his goal well.
SubsKasey McAteer – 3.5
On at 46 – Failed to inject any momentum or spark into the side.
Adam Idah – 3.5
On at 46 – Could not reproduce Saturday’s heroics, and didn’t really get the opportunity to do so.
Mikey Johnston – 4.5
On at 70 – Seemed to be the only player at least looking motivated to get on the ball and create.
Killian Phillips – 3
On at 70 – Had little to no impact off the bench.
Liam Scales – 3
On at 81 – Was disheartening to see a defender come on when a goal was needed.
Perhaps could have done better to stop Armenia’s late disallowed goal.