BBCcom_Content_Index_for_February_27_2024.txt
Armenia_2-1_Republic_of_Ireland_Is_loss_to_Armenia_worst_result_in_Republic_of_Irelands_history_-_BBC_Sport.txt
The pokerstars freerolls portugalworst result in Republic of Ireland's history?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jason Knight has his head in his hands after Republic of Ireland's shock defeat in YerevanByLauren McCannBBC Sport NI journalistPublished10 September 2025462 CommentsMacedonia in 1997, Cyprus in 2006, Luxembourg in 2021, Armenia in 2022 and now Armenia again in 2025.When ranking the Republic of Ireland's most embarrassing defeats, it is hard to look past the debacle that unfolded in their 2-1 defeat by Armenia in Yerevan on Tuesday night.The result against a side 105th in the Fifa world rankings was all the more calamitous given it effectively ends the Republic's hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup just two games into qualifying.The abject performance also inevitably leads to serious questions about the direction of the Irish team under Heimir Hallgrimsson and speculation about his future.The former Jamaica manager's contract only runs until the end of this World Cup campaign, which is now likely to conclude in November and not at next year's tournament finals in North America as he and supporters of the team had hoped.Republic of Ireland World Cup hopes dealt major blow with loss to Armenia'I take the blame' - Hallgrimsson on Armenia lossPublished5 days ago'Armenia were playing easily through the lines'Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Republic of Ireland have just one point from their two World Cup qualifying gamesHopes were high heading into this campaign as the Republic of Ireland aimed to reach a first World Cup since 2002 on the back of enjoying an unbeaten start to 2025.That optimism has quickly evaporated as Hallgrimsson's side have only a solitary point to show from their first two outings in Group F.Saturday's 2-2 draw with Hungary in Dublin showed both positive and negative elements.They trailed 2-0 at half-time, having paid the price for two defensive mistakes, and were indebted to goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for the fact their deficit was not greater.Yet they found a way to come back, with Adam Idah's late equaliser just reward for taking the game to the Hungarians after the break.That equaliser breathed some early life into their qualification ambitions but any momentum generated from that fine second-half display quickly evaporated in the searing Yerevan heat.Hallgrimsson looked to rectify the mistakes made in the first half, when the Irish midfield was overrun.Jack Taylor came in to join Josh Cullen and Jason Knight for the encounter with Armenia but that midfield combination lasted just 45 minutes.Taylor was hooked at the break, with the Republic boss opting to bring on Idah as a second striker and to change shape in an attempt to gain the upper hand.Instead of having a beneficial impact, that change ultimately contributed to his side's woes at the other end of the pitch as, with just Cullen and Knight, their midfield looked porous and successive long balls from Armenian defenders repeatedly cut out both players.That half-time change left former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given unimpressed."What struck me was that before the game, Heimir said how we have to stack midfield a bit more and how we have to get more bodies in there and how it will be won and lost there."Then he made a change and brought Idah on and left us really sparse in midfield and you could see how easily Armenia were playing through the lines," he said on RTE Two.Killian Phillips, who came on in the second half was the fourth and final central midfield option, which highlights the real dearth of talent available in what has become a problem area for the squad.Cullen and Knight are Hallgrimsson's preferred engine room duo but they lack the pace, physicality and technical attributes to really make a difference.'Republic of Ireland all over the place'One area in which the Republic of Ireland team looked well stocked was their defence, which they hoped to use as a platform on which to build victories.In front of a world-class goalkeeper in Kelleher they have Premier League quality defenders in O'Brien and Nathan Collins, as well as Dara O'Shea and Ryan Manning, who were both in the top flight last season.Yet, time and time again they were exposed, as they proved unable to deal with the physical threat of Tigran Barseghyan and the pace of the likes of Lucas Zelarayan, Niyan Tiknizyan and Eduard Spertsyan.Collins, who is Brentford and Republic of Ireland captain, had another difficult night after struggling in the first half against Hungary.He was run ragged by Barseghyan and Zelarayan, gave away the penalty for a silly trip on the latter which Spertsyan converted, and lost Grant-Leon Ranos in the box for the home side's second goal.O'Brien and O'Shea were at fault for the second goal too, failing to cut out Tiknizyan's cross.They were indebted to Kelleher for thwarting Spertsyan, Tiknizyan and Zelarayan after all three had latched on to balls over the top on the left-hand side that the two towering defenders had missed.Former Republic of Ireland defender Stephen Kelly summed up their plight perfectly on commentary for RTE: "Defensively, Republic of Ireland have been all over the place."It is ridiculous that we are in the position that Caoimhin Kelleher has kept the score respectable against Armenia."Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Captain Nathan Collins endured a tough evening in YerevanAlthough it is still mathematically possible for the Republic to qualify for the World Cup, the chances are slim as there is no room for error in their next four games.Two of those games are against Portugal, top seeds in the group, who brushed Armenia aside 5-0 on Saturday and beat Hungary 3-2 in Budapest to secure maximum points from their first two games.Another is at home to Armenia which, as evidenced on Tuesday, should prove another testing assignment, and the other is against Hungary in the cauldron of the Puskas Arena. This campaign, as was the case with the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Euro qualifying series, seems to be over before it even really got going.After their Armenian humbling, Hallgrimsson's charges will be playing for pride and hoping for a miracle in their remaining fixtures.They have conceded first in nine of Hallgrimsson's 12 games at the helm and have kept just two clean sheets. Not a good springboard on which to build a winning team.If the problems are not fixed - at least in an attempt to banish some of the memory of this latest Yerevan horror show - these could be the Icelandic manager's last four games in charge. Related topicsRepublic of Ireland Men's Football TeamFootballFIFA World CupComments can not be loadedTo load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browserView comments | 462
