SPORTSWORLD.AM
As part of the third round of the European zone of the 2026 World Cup, the Armenian national team will face Marco Rossi's Hungary at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. The Hungarians have come into this match with losses, the most painful of which for them is the loss of Barnabas Vanga. The two teams met in a friendly match in 2004, where Hungary scored two unanswered goals. Let's add that at that time, the current head coach, Yeghishe Melikyan, was in the starting lineup of our team. During the pre-match press conference, the young midfielder of the Armenian national team and Polish "Legia" Vahan Bichakhchyan and head coach Yeghishe Melikyan said that we will dictate our game and
In the opening ten minutes of the match, Bilosh Kerkez and his teammates organized an attack, which neutralized Uguchukwu Iwu. Dominique Soboslay, putting pressure on him, made a mistake on Gorgi Harutyunyan in the eleventh minute of the match and went one-on-one with Pyunik goalkeeper Henry Avagyan, who managed to send the ball to the corner. In the middle of the first half, the Armenian football players had a good chance to open the score, where Nayir Tiknizyan was ready to pass from Vahan Bichakhchyan, but the Gyumri “Shirak” student preferred to shoot in a clear case, the attack could have taken a different course.
In the first half, the Armenian team showed disciplined football, as Sobosla and his friends had two chances - against the goal defended by Henry Avagyan, and our team had one where the score could have been opened. Yeghishe Melikyan's boys were competently starting the attacks, where the goalkeeper of Yerevan's "Pyunik" was passing the ball to Eduard Spertsyan, who was moving forward. The Armenian team organized nine in the first half, and Hungary nineteen. Marco Rossi was dissatisfied with the work done by the team, from which it can be assumed that his planned plans were crowned with failure.
In the second half, Daniel Lukacs and his friends increased the pressure, which was noticeably different from the first half. The Hungarians' pressure paid off in the 57th minute when a gap was created in the defensive line of our team and Gyorgy Harutyunyan was unable to create an offside situation and 29-year-old Lukacs opened the score of the match. In the remaining period, Yeghishe Melikyan's boys were in search of a way to the opponent's goal and during that time, in the 90+4 minute, Zsombor Grohner doubled the score.
Thus, the Armenian national team suffers its second defeat in the current tournament, but the fight is not impossible. The Armenian football team is trailing Hungary by one point. Hungary takes second place in the tournament table with five points, while Tigran Barseghyan and his friends are in third place with four points.
Armenian football players will face the Irish national team at the Aviva Stadium in three days. Let's add that the Portugal-Ireland match will also take place today in Group F.