Joaquin Caparros has named his squad for the crucial match days 5 and 6 that will decide the fate of Group C2 in the UEFA Nations League. With the cancellation of the friendly against Albania, Caparros will again have only training sessions to determine his best possible lineup in an effort to find the balance between a solid defense and attacking creativity.
In goal, David Yurchenko, Ayvazoz and Beglaryan are all called up again to the national team. The experienced and very solid Yurchenko is expected to be in goal for both matches while the goalkeeping duo from Urartu look on from the bench.
In defense, Hovhannes Hambardzumyan returns to the squad after missing out on the last two matches due to injury. Recent Kazakh league champion Kamo Hovhannisyan retains his spot after a good performance last time out, same with Arman Hovhannisyan. Vice-captain Haroyan and his partner Calisir are both in the squad and fit. Both have had plenty of game time at the club level and should be set to start. Iskhanyan and Taron Voskanyan retain their spots as backups, for reasons unknown at this point, while the experience Andranik Voskanyan gets his second ever call up at the age of 30 for his solid performances with FC Van in the Armenian Premier League. Pyunik fullback Robert Hakobyan rounds off the defense despite the current struggles of the club. Some notable misses include Jordy Ararat, who is yet to be called up despite playing very well for FC Noah. There was also the slight chance of 21 year old Kiril Aloyan being called up since taking his career to Belarus.
In the midfield, captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan, veteran Ghazaryan, in form Babayan, Barseghyan and Bichakhchyan all retain their spots as attacking midfield options. Arshak Koryan is back in the squad after missing out last time due to a cold. It will be interesting to see what combination of 3 Caparros will use in these matches. Wbeymar, Grigoryan and Udo remain the holding midfield options, while Ararat Yerevan holding midfielder Karen Muradyan is brought in for competition. Urartu wingback Hakob Hakobyan earns his first senior call up at the age of 23, while Aghvan Papikyan makes his return to Armenia. Some notable absences include Khoren Bayramyan, who was confirmed injured by the FFA and Gegham Kadimyan who is not called up likely to explore other options. Some domestic talents being overlooked include Ararat Armenia defensive midfielder Shahinyan and FC Noah attacking midfielder Artem Simonyan. Still not sure why Caparros has not called those two up, they are clearly playing at a higher level than the likes of Muradyan and Papikyan.
Up front Caparros has called up the very much in form Sargis Adamyan, who has been dynamic since his return to injury scoring twice and providing an assist in only 60 minutes of play off the bench. He made his mark in Europe by scoring a brace in the Europa League sealing off a comfortable 5-0 win for Hoffenheim, who offered him a new deal that would see Sako at the club until 2023. Aleksandre Karapetian is also called up as a forward option. his inclusion is a bit of a surprise because he is yet to return to training for his club side Tambov after being injured last month. He is scheduled to be fit by November 8th, giving him 1 week until the Georgia match. Adamyan will likely get the nod to start up front as Caparros clearly sees him as a 9, like his club does, and unlike previous Armenian managers who have used him on the wing. Norberto Briasco Balekian will not be joining up with the squad despite his beautiful goalaso for Huracan in the Argentinian Cup. The FFA stated on instagram that the club requested he not go because of COVID-19 self isolation guidelines as well as travel would require he miss not only training sessions for Armenia, but matches when he returns to his club as well. Although this is a blow, if he moves to Europe in the next transfer window we will be seeing a lot more of him.
Full Squad:
Armenia play Georgia on November 15 and North Macedonia on November 18. Previews coming soon. BUT FIRST! I would like to announce that the Hyelander Soccer Podcast will NOT be returning, HOWEVER, a new podcast will be launching VERY SOON as I team up with several other knowledgeable Armenians from around the world to bring Armenian football to your earbuds. Stay tuned for that!
Armenian Soccer Talk by HyelandersFC 