YEREVAN — When on October 10, literally in the last minute of the added time, Gor Manvelian scored a goal against Faroe Islands in Torshavn, the capital of the islands, thus leveling the game 2:2, perhaps many thought that the Armenians would win the following match against Faroe in Armenia. The Faroe territory is not an independent nation but a self-governing group of islands under Denmark’s jurisdiction with a population of less than 60 thousand people, which is less than some districts of Yerevan. The Faroe Islands’ team ranks 138 on FIFA’s ranking list, whereas Armenia ranks 99. The aforecited statistics and the well-paid-off persistence of the Armenian squad in the first match in Torshavn were encouraging in the face of the expected game in Yerevan.
However, on November 14, this time playing as a host, the Armenian team somewhat surprisingly lost 0:1 to the Faroe Islands. In the 33rd minute, Viljormur Davidsen of the guest team scored the game’s only goal — from a penalty. Armenians had an advantage and prevailed during the game for the sake of truth. Statistically, they had the ball in their possession 73% of the time and made nine shots on target. However, the goalkeeper of the Faroe Islands, Teitur Gestsson, made nine saves. Armenians played 16 corners throughout the game, as opposed to one by the guests.
In Yerevan, Faroe Islands collected its only win of the UEFA League of Nations games. It temporarily climbed to the second horizontal of Group C, following N—Macedonia and leaving Armenia and Latvia behind. The Armenian squad played under caretaker manager Suren Chakhalyan. The former head coach Oleksandr Petrakov had resigned earlier, following Armenia’s defeat from N. Macedonia earlier in October. The Armenian fans were chanting ‘resign’ at the end of the game against Faroe, this time demanding the resignation of the managers of the Soccer Federation.
However, on November 17, a long overdue victory was scored. In Latvia, Edward Spertsian’s attempt in the 48th minute put Armenia in the lead. About twenty minutes later, Latvia’s forward Roberts Uldrikis made two back-to-back attempts. Armenia’s goalkeeper made a save the first time but missed the next one. The score was leveled for a brief period. Four minutes later, midfielder Artur Miranian’s attempt was checked by VAR (video assistant referee) for three minutes before the goal was confirmed. In the remaining time, Tiknizian missed the target, Uldrikis and Grigorian were shown yellow cards, but the score remained unchanged.
As a result, Armenia regained the second place in Group C with seven scores, following North Macedonia’s lead with 16 scores. According to UEFA’s regulations, Armenia is entitled to play another international game with one of the third horizontal teams of Group B. Each UEFA League is divided into four subgroups. On November 22, a drawing of lots will determine against which third-place team of the group B Armenia will play. If Armenia wins, it will advance to group B of the League of Nations, which means promotion.
