Armenia Set to Face Portugal in FIFA World Cup Qualifier in Yerevan

The Portuguese national football team is holding a prematch training session at the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) Football Academy stadium in Yerevan. This training is part of their preparation for the upcoming match against Armenia in the first round of the European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The match between Armenia and Portugal will take place on Saturday at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, with kickoff scheduled for 8pm local time.

Armenia’s midfielder Eduard Spertsyan, who also captains Russian Premier League titleholders Krasnodar, spoke about the team’s preparation. “We all know that Portugal are one of the best national teams in the world. We will try to show character on the pitch and achieve a good result tomorrow,” he said.

Spertsyan described the atmosphere in the team as very positive. “We are preparing for tomorrow's important match, and I am focused on tomorrow's match. There is a very good atmosphere in the team. We acknowledged Yeghishe Melikyan as a coach. We know that he played for the national team, but we are just working with him as a coach. He is quite demanding. We have invested maximum effort in the last five days to achieve a good result.”

The Armenian national team’s newly appointed coach, Yegishe Melikyan, said the challenge of facing Portugal. “I won't surprise anyone by saying that tomorrow will be very difficult for us, as we are dealing with a serious opponent. We have our plan. It's not that the Portuguese don't have weaknesses. We will try to close the strengths that they have. We will try to fulfill our tasks on the pitch. I always have a game plan. Whether it will work or not is another question, but I always prepare a plan. We will surprise the opponent. We will try to use what we have planned.”

The Portuguese team also expressed respect for the Armenian squad. Spanish Roberto Martinez, coach of the Portuguese national team, said, “We have great respect for the Armenian national team. We know that this team has players who are high personalities and are distinguished by high qualities. We know that the team has a new coach, which means that they will perform more enthusiastically on their own pitch tomorrow. For me and for my team, the Armenian national team are a good team. The Armenian fans will be very important in tomorrow's match; they are quite enthusiastic, active, and will show great support for their team at home.”

Portugal defender Ruben Dias also commented on the Armenian squad’s strengths. “The Armenian national team are a quite dangerous team. We are ready for tomorrow's match with Armenia. We had the opportunity to study the games of the Armenian national team with videos. Armenia are a quite dangerous team, they are able to make dangerous counterattacks. In particular, there are several players in the team who are able to create dangerous moments for the opponents. We are ready to withstand these counterattacks.”

Ahead of the match, the condition of Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium’s turf has raised some concern. The grass has not fully recovered since a Jennifer Lopez concert in August, with parts still in poor condition. Grass mowing and cultivating are ongoing, and both teams held their prematch training at the FFA Football Academy Stadium instead of the main stadium.

Armenia vs. Portugal match in the first round of the European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to kick off at 8pm local time on Saturday.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.