The Republic of Ireland will take on Armenia in Yerevan this evening (Tuesday) in Group F of the World Cup qualifiers. Ireland come into the crucial showdown knowing that taking all three points is vital in keeping hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 2002 alive. Heimir Hallgrímssons’ side faced a gruelling 4,000-kilometre trip after a ferocious battle with Hungary in Dublin on Saturday night. Adam Idah’s late goal levelled the game at 2-2 in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a massive point for the Boys in Green.
Ahead of the game, Shamrock Rovers’ Josh Honohan has been called up to the squad. Sammie Szmodics will miss out through injury. Ireland’s last visit to Yerevan ended in a 1-0 defeat back in June 2022. A big factor that night was the intense heat Ireland faced. With Tuesday night’s weather forecasting temperatures in the high 20s, Ireland may struggle once again.
Armenia’s last outing resulted in a 5-0 drubbing by Portugal on Saturday. They are winless in 5 and are 12 months without a win on home soil. However, Irish boss Heimir Hallgrímsson is still wary of the challenge that lies ahead. “They are a fast counter-attacking team, whose biggest strength is in transition.”
The key to coming home from Yerevan with a World Cup campaign still intact is Ireland’s defence. A concerning habit of conceding early goals has crept into this side under the Icelandic. This year alone, Ireland have conceded first in three of their five matches. Chasing a game in Yerevan in scorching heat is a nightmare scenario. Hallgrímsson has identified “We need to be as good as we were in the second half against Hungary in defence.”Even that second-half defensive performance was concerning, however, when goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher had to bail the defence out on more than one occasion.
Hallgrímsson also stated that he prefers ‘chaos to calmness’ and if Saturday night is anything to go by, Irish fans might be in for a rollercoaster of an Autumn. There is an exciting possibility that by this time next month, when the Boys in Green are travelling to Lisbon to take on the Portuguese, Ireland can be three points clear of Hungary and staring down the barrel of a thrilling run-in. Not many Irish campaigns have survived past the first two games in recent years, but if the dream can live past Tuesday evening in Yerevan, it’s likely to go down to the wire in November.
Kick-off is at 5 pm live on RTE 2.
By Seán Carley
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