WASHINGTON — Three days before Armenia’s national squad faced Ireland at Yerevan’s Republican Stadium in the opening matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ), they had to take on a much stronger rival: Portugal. Ranked sixth in the world by FIFA (International Football Federation), Portugal scored five unanswered goals against Armenia, currently ranked 105th. As expected, the Portuguese immediately took the lead in Group F, which also includes Ireland and Hungary alongside Armenia.
Following the crushing 0–5 home defeat, a crucial question emerged: Could the Armenian squad recover in time to host Ireland just 72 hours later? To their credit, they did. On September 9, the Yerevan side triumphed. Having drawn their opening match against Hungary at home on September 6, Ireland desperately needed a win in Yerevan to stay in contention for the play-offs. After the draw and the subsequent defeat, the Boys in Green — Ireland’s nickname — were left with just one point from two games.
From the opening whistle in Yerevan, Lucas Zelarayán, Eduard Spertsyan, and team captain Tigran Barseghyan relentlessly pressured the Irish defense, making it clear that this clash between the world’s 60th-ranked team and 105th-ranked Armenia would be no walk in the park. Just before halftime, after Nathan Collins fouled Barseghyan in the box, the Georgian referee awarded a penalty following a VAR review. Eduard Spertsyan, whose goal had secured a win over Ireland in June 2022, calmly converted the penalty to give Armenia a 1–0 lead going into the break.
As FIFA’s official site noted, “the Armenians kept up their momentum after the break.” In the 51st minute, Grant-Leon Ranos doubled the lead to 2–0, however, six minutes later, Evan Ferguson pulled one back for Ireland. After that Armenia’s goalkeeper Ognjen Čančarević, an ethnic Serb, defender Erik Piloyan and other players held off the Irish attempts to equalize. In the 88th minute, Ararat-Armenia forward Seropyan appeared to score a third goal for Armenia, but it was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check. The match ended 2–1 in favor of Armenia, placing them second in Group F.
“It was the first time Ireland ever lost to a side ranked outside the top 100,” reported The Irish Times, asking whether the defeat in Yerevan was “the most calamitous loss in the history of Irish football.” Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, expressed concern: “It is difficult to be optimistic that we will go to Portugal and win those games with a performance like that.”
Portugal will host the Boys in Green on October 11, while Armenia will face Hungary the same day. The final round of 2025 World Cup qualifying matches — Portugal vs. Hungary and Ireland vs. Armenia — will take place on October 14, concluding this year’s WCQ calendar.
