Armenia-Russia match: Armenians have chances to qualify for Euro 2012 final tournament

March 21, 2011 - 19:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The upcoming Armenia-Russia Euro 2012 qualifier will be the third match in the history of the Armenian and Russian teams.

The first match between them was in Yerevan on March 27, 1999, as part of Euro-2000 qualifiers. Armenia were defeated 0:3. Russia celebrated victory also in the return match in Moscow 2:0 in presence of 50,000 fans on September 4, 1999.

Armenia’s goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky and captain Sargis Hovsepyan are the only football players, who participated in the previous two matches and are named in the squad for the upcoming match. Russia’s squad has completely changed.

Of course, the statistics is not in favor of Armenia, but the Armenian football players have a real chance not only to celebrate victory in the match, but also strengthen their positions in the Group B standings and qualify for the Euro 2012 final tournament.

Armenia celebrated two victories in four matches, defeating Slovakia (3:1) and Andorra (4:0). The Armenian team ended in a draw its match with Macedonia – 2:2, and suffered only one defeat from Ireland 0:1.

Russia’s victory will bring it confidence, as the team was defeated in the last two friendly matches with Belgium (0:2) and Iran (1:0), as well as leadership in Group B.

Currently, Group B standings are as follows: Russia – 9 points, Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia – 7 points each, Macedonia – 4 points, and Andorra – 0.