Defensive woes but forwards firing: Republic of Ireland v Armenia talking points

The Republic of Ireland headed for Armenia having already used their World Cup qualification get-out-of-jail-free card.

Saturday night’s 2-2 draw with 10-man Hungary, in which they had trailed 2-0, yielded a first point of the campaign but left them really needing to pick up all three in Yerevan on Tuesday evening if they are to stand a chance of making it to next summer’s finals.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a fixture which could prove key to their hopes.

Case for the defence

Like so many of his recent predecessors, head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has sought to capitalise on Ireland’s traditional strengths and make his side more difficult to beat as a foundation for whatever else they may be able to do. For the opening 15 minutes in Dublin, they were anything but and Barnabas Varga and Roland Sallai took full advantage to put the Hungarians in total control. To their credit, Hallgrimsson’s men scrapped their way back into it and, aided by Sallai’s second-half dismissal, were worthy of a point in the end, but events will not always conspire so kindly.

Left field solution?

The absence of first-choice left-back Robbie Brady through injury at the weekend left Hallgrimsson with something of a headache. His solution was to ask specialist right-back Matt Doherty to switch sides, and it was he who played Varga onside for the opening goal on a night when he did little to enhance his reputation. Ryan Manning is a left-footed option, but his delivery from both open play and set-pieces from a more advanced position was a key feature of Ireland’s fightback against Hungary and the Icelander will be loath to limit his creative input.

Ringing the changes

Ireland had little time to reflect on a tumultuous night in Dublin before they boarded the plane for a gruelling flight to Yerevan. Tired limbs will be assessed in the run-up to the game, but wide-man Sammie Szmodics did not make the trip after picking up an injury on Saturday, so Hallgrimsson will have to make at least one change to his starting line-up. Chiedozie Ogbene is just a few games into his comeback from an Achilles tendon rupture which sidelined him for nine months, but his 24-minute cameo against Hungary injected fresh pace and devilment and he, like winger Mikey Johnston, will hope for further involvement.

Scoring touch

If Hallgrimsson was left with questions about his defence after a bruising first half on Saturday, there were reasons to be cheerful at the other end of the pitch. Evan Ferguson had scored only one goal for either club or country since November 2024 when he struck four minutes into the second half, and Adam Idah celebrated his switch to Swansea after a difficult conclusion to his time at Celtic with a priceless equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time. More of the same will be required in Yerevan if Ireland are to prosper.

Unwelcome memories

Portugal’s 5-0 win at the Republican Stadium hours before Ireland and Hungary battled out their draw said as much about their strength as it did the weaknesses of a side ranked 105th in the world by FIFA. However, Caoimhin Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Josh Cullen and Ogbene will need no reminder of their last trip to the Armenian capital for a Nations League fixture in June 2022. They were in the starting line-up that night as Eduard Spertsyan fired the hosts to a 1-0 win which left the visitors red-faced.