Armenia take on the visitors Georgia in the EUFA Nations League relegation final (League B/C). The match will be played on Thursday, March 20th at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium (Yerevan).
Armenia hopes to finally achieve a notable success. Miliet once had a realistic shot at reaching the playoffs. Back then, they were led by their brightest-ever star, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was at the peak of his career. However, even he couldn’t carry the team to the next level. Now, with all due respect to Eduard Spertsyan, Armenia lacks players of such caliber. As a result, their last European qualifying campaign ended with just 8 points and a second-to-last finish, ahead of only Latvia. They did manage to defeat Latvia again last autumn in the Nations League, but their performances against other opponents were far less impressive: a draw with the Faroe Islands and three losses—one to the Faroese and two to group leader North Macedonia. Still, with just 7 points, they somehow managed to secure second place in their group. This highlights both the inconsistency of their performances and the overall weakness of the opposition they faced.
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Georgia had long been a team filled with individual talent but lacking cohesion. That changed under Willy Sagnol, who struggled in regular qualification but took full advantage of the Nations League path last year. They first secured a 2-0 win over Luxembourg, then edged out Greece in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw—thanks to Mamardashvili’s heroics. That led to their first-ever European Championship appearance, which was already a huge achievement. They opened with a 1-3 loss to Turkey but bounced back with a draw against the Czech Republic before shocking Portugal, albeit against a side that had already secured a knockout spot. Spain was a different story, though—despite scoring first, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and his teammates were ultimately outclassed by the future champions. This fall, Georgia started the Nations League in promising fashion with wins over Albania and the Czech Republic. However, they picked up just one more point—a home draw with Ukraine—while losing three times, eventually slipping to third place in the group. Their struggles against stronger opposition suggest they still have work to do to compete consistently at a high level.
These neighbors exchanged friendly victories in the early 2000s. However, in the 2020 Nations League, Armenia held Georgia to a draw at home before securing a win on the road. The Crusaders are the stronger side and should prove it on the pitch. Expect an away victory for Georgia.
Prediction for the match: Georgia to win.
