Armenia National Team Achieves Fantastic Result: Three Matches, Three Victories in Qualifying Group

The national teams of Armenia and Romania had faced each other five times until now, with four official and one friendly match. Our team managed to secure a draw in one game, but the Romanians won in the other matches, altering the statistics in our favor.

In the European qualifying group J for the 2022 World Cup, the Armenian national team has become the leader with a 100% record after claiming a determined victory against the Romanian squad with a score of 3:2.

At the start of the match, there was noticeable tension in our team's actions. It was evident that the Romanians had studied our team's game well, beginning without any reconnaissance. However, our goalkeeper, Yurchenko, who had not had the opportunity to showcase his skills in the previous two games, did not lose his touch. He played confidently in several moments, while shots from Aleksandr Karapetyan and Tigran Barseghyan were blocked by Romanian goalkeeper Florin Nita.

There was a back-and-forth dynamic to the game. Until halftime, the Romanians perhaps had some territorial advantage, but no goals were scored, and the teams went into the break with a score of 0:0.

At the beginning of the second half, coach Joaquin Caparros surprised many once again, if not all. On the field came 19-year-old Jirayr Shaghoyan, 20-year-old Eduard Spertsyan, who was playing his first match for our national team, and the much more experienced Sargis Adamyan. After the game against Iceland, Caparros stated in a press conference that he had not chosen a specific tactic for the first or second halves, and the game simply took that course. However, in this match, our team primarily focused on keeping their own goal secure in the first half, becoming more active at the start of the second. This seems to be a deliberate strategy to exploit the opponent's functional state, especially considering that the Romanians had just played a tough match against the German team three days prior.

The coach took an immense risk by bringing inexperienced Shaghoyan and Spertsyan onto the field. But those who don’t take risks know what they don’t gain. Caparros surely can celebrate (but not completely) as Eduard Spertsyan scored the first goal in his debut match for the national team, now leaving the Krasnodar player to fulfill his promise by dedicating the goal to his family.

Under the wave of excitement, the Armenian national team could have quickly doubled the score, but Sargis Adamyan’s shot was miraculously saved by the Romanian goalkeeper. Thus, the unwritten law of football applies: if you don’t score, they will score on you. The Romanian team equalized the score, and the goal invigorated their spirit. It helped them, somewhat, with the quick equalizing goal. Just ten minutes after leveling the score, Alexandru Cicâldău netted his second goal, giving the guests a lead.

It wasn’t that something completely unexpected happened. Romania is still a very strong team. Of course, it was possible to defeat them, but desires and possibilities do not always align. The key is that our team plays, and there is intent in the game. When the Romanians were down to ten players, it was possible to avoid defeat. If Shaghoyan and Adamyan were more fortunate, that might have been the case.

But those who strive will reach what they desire. Our fantastic team converted numerical advantage into tangible results. Varazdat Haroyan scored the second equalizer, and Eduard Spertsyan earned a penalty, which was confidently converted by Tigran Barseghyan to make it 3:2.

Who could have said that our national team would accumulate 9 points after the first three qualifying matches? Those who would have laughed at such a claim are likely the ones laughing now: the Armenian national team and its fans—bravo!

The next match for the Armenian national team in the 2022 European qualifying group J will take place in five months in September. On the 2nd of that month, our team will face North Macedonia in an away match, on September 5th they will host the German national team, and finally on September 8th, they will welcome the Liechtenstein team.

However, it is now clear that Tigran Barseghyan, Varazdat Haroyan, and Khoren Bayramyan will miss the game against North Macedonia due to suspensions. Caparros has another opportunity to prove his genius and deliver new surprises.