Armenia national football team disappoints against Georgia
Editor’s note: The recent UEFA Nations League play-off between Armenia and Georgia was overshadowed by violent incidents, as Georgian fans reportedly threw objects at Armenian supporters following the match. This event adds to the growing concerns about Armenophobia in Georgia, following pro-government media outlets targeting political figures with anti-Armenian rhetoric.
Let’s cut to the chase—Armenia doesn’t have world-class football (soccer) players. So, why all the uproar after being demolished by our Caucasian neighbors in an important international match?
Soccer has long been regarded as the most popular sport in Armenia. Armenian sports fans are eager to see the men’s team play in a major tournament. However, that can all be put aside when the national team goes through a transitional period.
The problem is that the team has been going through a transitional period for years.
Armenia lost to Georgia 0-3 in Yerevan on March 20 and 6-1 in Tbilisi three days later, resulting in a 9-1 aggregate loss in the UEFA Nations League B/C play-off. Georges Mikautadze registered four goals across the two games, establishing himself as Georgia’s standout player.
Armenia had none of that order. Rather, their defensive line was to blame for many of Georgia’s goals. A lack of purpose and poise on the ball, in front of a team that loves a counter-attack, proved to be a recipe for disaster. Edgar Sevikyan deserves credit for a bicycle kick goal in the second half of the second leg, but it was one of the only positive moments for Armenia in the pair of games against Georgia.
John van ‘t Schip couldn’t have had a more turbulent start to his managerial stint with the Havaqakan. The Dutch manager was appointed head coach of the Armenian team on February 17, just weeks shy of Armenia’s two-leg play-off against Georgia to determine promotion to League B and relegation to League C.
Not only did Armenia suffer two losses, concede nine goals and remain in League C, but Schip also agreed to send Grant-Leon Ranos back to his club Kaiserslautern following a disagreement regarding Ranos’ playing time.
In a statement posted by Ranos on social media, the young forward justified his actions by saying he was “feeling good and totally motivated to play and help the team.” Ranos explained his absence from the national team: “Surprisingly, the coach then told me that he had no plans for me for the upcoming game. This naturally made me very sad. As playing minutes are particularly important for me at the moment and I had no prospect of getting them, I agreed to go back to Kaiserslautern to prepare for the next game and we agreed on this together,” Ranos wrote.
One can argue that Armenia was missing players including Eduard Spertsyan and Lucas Zelarayán, who make up the bulk of Armenia’s strong offensive plays. But even with their presence, it’s unlikely the scoreline would have been very different due to the porous defense.
Armenia now has to brush itself off and hope players get ample game time at the club level to stay sharp, ahead of a pair of international friendlies this summer. Armenia plays Kosovo on Friday, June 6 in Kosovo and Montenegro on Monday, June 9 in Armenia. The national team will have half a year until competitive games resume, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers kicking off on Saturday, September 6 against Portugal in Yerevan.
Jason Takhtadjian
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