Armenia v Republic of Ireland - Tuesday, 9 September 2025 - 2026 World Cup Qualifier

[Fixer82]

I'm pretty nervous about this. We need to score in first half I think. And not concede. I still have PTSD from San Marino when Stephen Ireland saved our bacon at the last minute

[Fixer82]

Tell me this,

Is match day squad now the full starting line up and bench or do they still name a bench with other players excluded from participating (which I always thought was really stupid and pointless)

[rebelmusic]

Tell me this,

Is match day squad now the full starting line up and bench or do they still name a bench with other players excluded from participating (which I always thought was really stupid and pointless)

It's a 23 man squad and 23 are in the match day team. If he had named more players to the squad then there would be a difference but for HHs approach it's sort of a moot point

[mark12345]

I'm pretty nervous about this. We need to score in first half I think. And not concede. I still have PTSD from San Marino when Stephen Ireland saved our bacon at the last minute

This is a win or bust game. Anything less than 3 points and it is all over for Irish football, not just for this campaign but for a very long time to come.

[SkStu]

Watched the Portugal game on Saturday and Armenia are a very weak team. Their recent record backs that up. Kenny's Ireland the only exception to that recent record. Lets see if HH's Ireland can shake that particular bogeyman off. I am confident they will.

[pineapple stu]

I think Armenia have gone backwards even since they beat us (and ran us very close in Dublin of course). I'm wary of being confident of a win because God knows how many times that's backfired of late - but I'm also confident of a win. A comfortable 2-0 would be nice for a change

[tetsujin1979]

They've conceded 21 games in five games this year, including conceding five (or more) three times. They haven't won at home in a year, including a loss to the Faroe Islands in November.
If we can't win this, it's time to give serious thought to giving up on football.

[mark12345]

They've conceded 21 games in five games this year, including conceding five (or more) three times. They haven't won at home in a year, including a loss to the Faroe Islands in November.
If we can't win this, it's time to give serious thought to giving up on football.

Agree completely. If we can't win this it is time to put our time and efforts (us fans I'm talking about) into something that pays dividends at least once in a while. It is time also, win or lose, for a complete lobotomy of our approach to the game. Coaching in Ireland is of a high standard and is improving, I keep hearing. Yet we still can't produce midfield players who crate or strikers who score for the most part. And Irish teams still do not play a passing game that involves all 10 players like those world beaters from Hungary did on Saturday and Armenia will do later on today. Hoping for an Irish win like everyone else but after being totally outclassed by Hungary in the first half, one wonders where exactly this team is going?

[elatedscum]

Team announced: Assuming it's 4-3-3 but I guess it could be a narrow 5-4-1 with Ogbene and Manning as wing backs.

Kelleher

O'Brien
O'Shea
Collins
Manning

Cullen
Knight
Taylor

Ogbene
Ferguson
Azaz

///

Personally I'd have dropped probably Cullen, lost one midfielder anyway and played a proper winger in Johnston. I suppose I can see the logic in Manning overlapping and Azaz tucking inside

[mark12345]

Team announced: Assuming it's 4-3-3 but I guess it could be a narrow 5-4-1 with Ogbene and Manning as wing backs.

Kelleher

O'Brien
O'Shea
Collins
Manning

Cullen
Knight
Taylor

Ogbene
Ferguson
Azaz

///

Personally I'd have dropped probably Cullen, lost one midfielder anyway and played a proper winger in Johnston. I suppose I can see the logic in Manning overlapping and Azaz tucking inside

I think you're spot on. Three center backs and Manning and Ogbene as wing backs. Like yourself I would have preferred Johnson started in place of Cullen, Knight, or Taylor. We cannot afford to leave his attacking abilities on the bench.

[ifk101]

Same shape as before?

Out of possession:
Kelleher;
O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins, Manning;
Ogbene, Cullen, Knight, Azaz;
Ferguson, Taylor.

In possession:
Kelleher;
O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins;
Ogbene, Cullen, Knight, Manning;
Azaz, Taylor;
Ferguson.

If the tactics are aerial, Ogbene and Taylor give extra targets.

[passinginterest]

Hard to guess the shape. It's probably just going to be some minor shuffling around. I'd say it's the same as the last day but: Manning left full, Knight left wing, Taylor beside Cullen, Ogbene on the right instead of Smodzics.

[Eirambler]

I feel like, if we just have two centre mids again, we're at risk of messing up in Yerevan, bad and all as Armenia are. I'd like to see us put an extra body in there to try and dominate the middle, but they just don't seem interested in trying it.

Something like

Kelleher
O'Brien Collins O'Shea Manning
Cullen Taylor
Johnston Azaz Knight
Ferguson

with Knight tucking in as a third centre mid when we're out of possession, and also making space for Manning to push forward onto the left wing when the opportunity arises.

Other than him going for Ogbene over Johnston that's the team. Maybe HH was reading the forum! He could play Azaz wide in a 4-3-3, or go for the kind of setup I posted there.

Needless to say I'm very happy that he's picked three centre midfielders (not including Azaz), as trying to go with two has been our downfall in these kinds of games in the recent past.

I'd probably have started Johnston over Ogbene but I can see the logic in keeping Johnston back for bench impact as well.

[Eirambler]

I think Armenia have gone backwards even since they beat us (and ran us very close in Dublin of course). I'm wary of being confident of a win because God knows how many times that's backfired of late - but I'm also confident of a win. A comfortable 2-0 would be nice for a change

It felt like a lot of these kinds of teams were claimed to be "on the up" when they beat or took points off us in recent years - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Luxembourg...when they stopped getting to play SK managed teams they seemed to drift back down again.

I think Armenia have always been a poor team, they were poor when they beat us and they're poor now. No excuses, we need to go out and get the three points one way or another here if we're to have any prospect of finishing second in this group.

However, that said, this game is probably Armenia's best hope of a result across all six of their group games, so they'll presumably throw everything at it here.

[pineapple stu]

I think Armenia have always been a poor team, they were poor when they beat us and they're poor now.

I suppose they were at a sort of a peak in that they'd just gotten promoted from League C, ahead of North Macedonia and Georgia, who both performed creditably at the Euros on either side. They had Mkhitaryan then too, which they don't now.

But there may be something in the "We made them good" alright. And there's definitely something in the idea that this is their best chance of a result, and they did us before, so they'll be up for it.