Special for the Armenian Weekly
European championship qualifying is set to continue on Fri., Nov. 14, as Armenia travels to Estádio Algarve in the southern city of Faro, Portugal, to take on a red hot Cristiano Ronaldo and company in what is shaping up to be a vital fixture for both teams. Ronaldo is in top form entering this match. Following on from his FIFA Golden Boot winning 31 goals last season, Ronaldo has added a record-breaking 17 goals from ten league matches along with three goals in four Champions League matches so far this season. The man is arguably the best player of modern times, but undoubtedly one of the most prolific goal scorers in recent memory.
The Armenian team during a practice on Nov. 11 (Photo courtesy of the Football Federation of Armenia)
Keeping Ronaldo at bay will be a stern challenge for Armenia. Especially considering they have failed to keep a clean sheet in 2014 and only once have they failed to concede less than two goals in a match. Although their recent qualifying performances have been better and results somewhat unlucky, Armenia’s 2014 match statistics from all games played provide woeful reading.
Played: 8; Won: 1; Lost: 6; Draw: 1; Goals for: 8; Goals against: 22
Armenia currently sits at the foot of the Group I table with a solitary point from two games played, but results elsewhere in the group mean they are still within striking distance of the leaders. In fact, the opening exchanges of Group I and across the other eight qualifying groups only serve to highlight the growing sense of parity between European footballing nations. This reiterates the continuing improvements made by the likes of Albania, Armenia, Northern Ireland and Wales in recent times.
Group – I – Table
Group play opened back in September with a shock defeat of Portugal on home soil by Albania, while Denmark just edged Armenia in Copenhagen to secure all three opening day points. October’s matchups saw Albania continue to surprise, holding Denmark to a draw at home in Elbasan, while Armenia earned their first point of the campaign against Serbia in Yerevan, when it looked for a long time that all three points were there for the taking.
Much like their performance in Denmark, Armenia stifled any attacking play Serbia could muster and managed to take the lead through Robert Arzumanyan late in the game. Marcos Pizzelli could have sealed it from the spot soon afterwards but saw his penalty kick and rebound effort expertly saved. That miss opened the door for a cruel and dramatic finish as Serbia stole a point at the death with a terrific strike from the left boot of Zoran Tošić as the 90 minutes expired.
Although desperately disappointing to lose points late in the game, particularly with the late penalty miss fresh in the memory, there were actual signs of life from Armenia. Armenia’s tactics of a packed defense and quick counter-attack, although somewhat nerve racking to fans since possession statistics are rarely favorable, actually suit the personnel in the squad. The performances against both Denmark and Serbia were good and few pundits predicted success against Serbia considering the weakened squad Challandes had to choose from. But Armenia is now welcoming back some of its best attacking options for this fixture. In particular, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Yura Movsisyan make a welcome return as Armenia looks to stay in touch and perhaps provide a shock of their own on Portuguese soil. They’ll still be without the services of injured Aras Özbiliz but still should have enough fire power to cause Portugal trouble in what has been a fascinating Group I up to now. The Portuguese welcome back José Bosingwa after a 4 year absence from international football. Defenders Tiago Gomes and Raphael Guerreiro receive their first call-ups to the international setup and established striker Hélder Postiga has been recalled after being left out of Santos’s first two games in charge last month. From a coaching perspective, Santos will be able to join his team on the bench after the Court of Arbitration for Sport temporarily lifted an eight-match ban pending an appeal. The ban was imposed on Santos by FIFA following an incident during a World Cup match against Costa Rica, while Santos was at the helm of the Greek national team.
In other news from Group I, one of the biggest talking points thus far and one that could have far reaching ramifications in terms of who progresses was the abandonment of the highly contested Serbia vs. Albania clash in Belgrade on Tues., Oct. 14. The politically charged incident that prompted the abandonment of the match has been well documented and will continue to be discussed, but from a footballing standpoint and in terms of the interests of Armenia and the other teams in Group I, the following is the fallout from the sanctions FIFA has imposed on both teams following ten days of investigation and deliberation.
Serbia was granted a 3:0 forfeit victory, from what is understood to be Albania’s reluctance to continue the game following a flash point that prompted a stoppage in play, crowd trouble and a pitch invasion. The Albanian football federation was also fined 100,000 euros for their part in what unfolded. On the other hand, for failing to maintain a safe environment for fans, players, and officials, and for what can only be described as a shambolic breakdown in security, FIFA has deducted Serbia three points from their points total and ordered their next two games to be played behind closed doors, the first of those matches is in Belgrade on Fri., Nov. 14, versus Denmark. The Serbian football federation was also fined 100,000 euros. All of these sanctions are subject to appeal and presumably that is why the current Group I standings do not reflect the abandoned match or those sanctions until due process has been completed.
Armenia Squad: Roman Berezovsky, Gevorg Kasparov, Arsen Beglaryan, Hovhannes Hambardzumyan, Levon Airapetian, Hrayr Mkoyan, Robert Arzumanyan, Varazdat Haroyan, Taron Voskanyan, Kamo Hovhannisyan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Edgar Manucharyan, Gevorg Ghazaryan, Norayr Aslanyan, Rumyen Hovsepyan, Artur Yedigaryan, Marcos Pizzelli, Artem Simonyan, Karlen Mkrtchyan, David Manoyan, Masis Voskanyan, Artur Sarkisov, Yura Movsisyan, Alexander Karapetyan
Coach: B. Challandes
Portugal Squad: Rui Patricio, Eduardo, Anthony Lopes, Beto, Fábio Coentrão, Pepe, Ricardo Costa, Luis Neto, Antunes, João Pereira, André Almeida, Rúben Vezo, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Carvalho, Eliseu, José Fonte, Cédric, Ivo Pinto, J. Bosingwa, Tiago Gomes, Raphael Guerreiro, Raul Meireles, João Moutinho, Miguel Veloso, André Gomes, Pedro Tiba, Adrien Silva, William Carvalho, Tiago, João Mário, Nani, Vieirinha, Éder, Ricardo Horta, Ivan Cavaleiro, Bruma, Cristiano Ronaldo, Danny, Ricardo Quaresma, Hélder Postiga
Coach: F. Santos
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