SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the third round of the 2026 World Cup European Zone qualifying round, yesterday, October 11, the Armenian national team made history by defeating the Hungarian national team with a score of 0:2. The two teams met for the first time in official matches. Our team met the Hungarians once in a friendly match in 2004. In the starting lineup of that match, left-back Yeghishe Melikyan, who has played 29 matches for the national team, took his place. Sargis Hovsepyan, Artur Voskanyan, and others took the field with him.
The Armenian team failed to win the match, as the score was 0:2, but everything is not so clear-cut. After the victory of Marco Rossi's boys, they are in second place in the standings with four points, and the team led by Yeghishe Melikyan is in third place with three points. The fight for Eduard Spertsyan and his friends is not over, there is a one-point difference with the Hungarians and on November 13 they will host Dominik Sobosla and his teammates in Yerevan. Before the Yerevan match, Yeghishe Melikyan's boys will face the Irish team, which will take place tomorrow, on October 14, where our team only needs a victory, which can be said to be realistic considering the uncompromising struggle with the Hungarian team. Hungary is not a top team, but there are players playing there who defend the colors of clubs playing in the five strongest leagues. There are also high-ranking players in the Irish national team, but there is a difference, if we were meeting Marco Rossi's team for the first time in official games, then our players and coaching staff are already familiar with the Irish style of play. Yeghishe Melikyan has repeatedly stated during his press conferences: "I know the opponent after spending time with him on the field," and these words of the Armenian specialist may come true at the Aviva Stadium, from which, according to some information, it can accommodate 51,700 football fans. After Yeghishe Melikyan led the team, we can see a positive shift in the style of play of our team, if at that time those who were in front did not participate in the defense, then under his leadership the whole team participates in the defense and attack - Tigran Barseghyan and his friends know how to move with and without the ball. Looking at the standings, we can conclude one thing: we need two consecutive victories, which seems realistic given the playing style of the Irish and Hungarian teams. Rossi spoke about all this after the Hungary-Armenia match, noting, "It will be difficult for us to score even a single point against the Armenian team in Yerevan."
VLADIMIR GABRIELIAN