I Am Proud of My Boys, There Is Team Spirit: Yeghishe Melikyan

In the fifth round of Group F in the European qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup, the Armenian national team lost narrowly to Hungary at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan.

After the match, our national team's head coach, Yeghishe Melikyan, answered journalists' questions. “This is already a regrettable game for us. We had the opportunity not to lose, we had the chance to win, but we are losing. I say all this with regret, but I am proud of my boys because there is team spirit, they are working sincerely, there is unity, and there is a team, and all of this brings joy,” he stated.

“I congratulate our opponent and wish them success; I can't say that they didn't deserve it, they did… We will think about our mistakes, analyze them, and move forward. During the break, we did a good job, more psychologically. We understood what the team wanted in the first half; they were provoking us to come out, break the block, so they could use the zones. We slightly changed the pressing model, and most importantly, psychological work was done,” Melikyan explained.

“As always, there were a few emotions, a little table, a little chair, a little water… Whatever works, we did, and the second half changed. I would say we took a few steps forward because I don't want to look back to when I came and say what condition the team was in. But I can say that during my tenure, we have a good collective, unity, team spirit, a fight until the end, a game plan, and we know what we want. Not everything will turn out well for us; that is normal since our rivals are strong teams.”

“This is very important for our future, for the team to understand how to work, how to live together, how to play. Many questions have been resolved, and most importantly, this game showed that there is competition within the team, and no player should know that they are better than another or irreplaceable. If not in this game, I will achieve that. This game showed that much has been resolved in that regard.”

“I am confident that our local boys will be motivated, confidence will come, which we need a lot. We are a young team; we have a future. I can say many things, but I can only emphasize the bad—indeed, I do not consider it normal that we are not earning points. I apologize for that and thank our fans for being with us, approaching us, understanding us, appreciating our current resources, and reacting appropriately. In any case, if there is no result, the fans are always right. This time, I am lucky that the fans understand and are patient, for that, I am grateful; it motivates me.”

“Let’s look at our resources and understand what team we are playing against. For now, we cannot maintain stability or have an advantage for 90 minutes; we do not have the capacity for that. We have a game plan, online work with the coaching staff, and motivation for the players. In some ways, it works.”

“Yes, the opponent controlled the ball, but that was part of our plan. We cannot press high against teams like Liverpool or apply that kind of pressure; we are not ready for that yet. In the first half, we had good defense, but when we got the ball and wanted to make a quick counterattack, issues arose. At halftime, I got frustrated and said that our forwards were losing the ball too easily, which put a lot of pressure on the defense. We needed to hold the ball at the front so that the defense could breathe, but there were quality and psychological issues. I told some players, ‘You have 10 minutes; play a different kind of football, or you won't start anymore.’”