Hallgrímsson under pressure after 2-1 away defeat
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Republic of Ireland’s World Cup dream was torn to shreds in Yerevan as Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men lost 2-1 against Armenia.
A little more than three years after they endured an embarrassing 1-0 Nations League defeat at the Republican Stadium, Ireland lost 2-1 against a side ranked 105th in the world, in a game they had to win if they were to stand a realistic chance of qualifying from Group F following a 2-2 draw with Hungary in Dublin on Saturday.
For the ninth time in 10 competitive games under Hallgrímsson, Ireland conceded first when Eduard Spertsyan, who fired Armenia to victory against the Irish in June 2022 and also scored in the reverse fixture, struck from the spot. Grant-Leon Ranos doubled the hosts’ advantage within six minutes of the second half and, although Evan Ferguson dragged the visitors back into it on 57 minutes, Ireland could not pull themselves out of the mire for the second time in four days.
