World Cup Qualification 2026: Ireland-Armenia, the likely lineups

The chances of direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup are now slim for Ireland and Armenia (Portugal now seems unreachable), but the two national teams will play Tuesday night at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin an important chance to get back in the race for second place in Group F of the European zone, currently occupied by Marco Rossi’s Hungary.

The Irish have endured a nightmarish first leg, with only one point in three matches won at home to Hungary on Sept. 6 (2-2): from there came the away knockout against Armenia itself (2-1) and the last-second one in Portugal (1-0). Head coach Heigrim Hallgrimsson will go for a single center-forward lineup, most likely Parrott, supported by two trequartists, Ogbene and Johnston.

On the other hand, selector Yegishe Melikyan’s Armenians want to keep dreaming: an encore against Ireland would allow them to overtake Hungary should the Magyars fail to win against Portugal. 3-4-3 is the coach&#8217s scheme for Armenia, with a trident consisting of Serobyan, Barseghyan and Zelarayan.

Probable lineups

IRLAND (3-4-2-1): Kelleher; O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea; Coleman, Smallbone, Molumby, Manning; Ogbene, Johnston; Parrott. C.t. Hallgrimsson.

ARMENIA (3-4-3): Avagyan; Muradyan, Harutyunyan, Piloyan; Hovhannisyan, Iwu, Spertsyan, Tiknizyan; Serobyan, Barseghyan, Zelarayan. C.t. Melikyan.

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