Armenia v Wales LIVE: Result and reaction from crucial Euro 2024 qualifier as Wales suffer huge blow with draw
Armenia 1-1 Wales: Euro 2024 qualification is taken out of Wales’s hands as they fail to find a winner in Yerevan
Wales suffered a huge blow in their penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier against Armenia, as a 1-1 draw in Yerevan took automatic qualification for the tournament out of their hands.
Rob Page’s side remain in the second automatic qualifying spot in Group D but will be leapfrogged by Croatia if they beat Latvia later this evening and if the Croats then do likewise against the Armenian on Tuesday they won’t be able to be caught by Wales, regardless of the result against Turkey in Cardiff at the same time.
Wales fell behind after just five minutes in Yerevan when they failed to clear a corner and Lucas Zelarayan brilliantly fired past Danny Ward but the visitors steadily gained a foothold and deservedly equalised in first-half injury time when Nair Tiknizyan headed into his own goal under pressure from Joe Rodon at a corner.
Yet the Dragons couldn’t find a winner in the second half and were fortunate not to lose the match as Vahan Bichakhchyan struck the underside of the bar and Ward made a couple of important saves with Armenia looking the side more likely to score. The dropped points now likely consign Wales to a play-off if they want to reach a third straight men’s European Championship finals.
Relive all the action with our live blog below:
SAVE! Armenia 1-1 Wales
90 mins: Wales scored in first-half injury time, they’ll need to do likewise in the second.
The board goes up for 5 minutes just as Danny Ward dives to his right and tips wide Sevikyan’s curled effort as he cuts inside! Huge save to keep Wales’s hopes alive!
The corner then whipped into the near post and Ward has to scramble to punch it behind. That was sneaking in at the near post!
Armenia 1-1 Wales
89 mins: Wales corner as a cross is blocked. Dan James to take, towards the back post but a bit high for Rodon whose header loops harmlessly wide.
Armenia 1-1 Wales
88 mins: At the other end, Tiknizyan gets a little space on the left of the box slashes at the ball but fires well over.
Armenia 1-1 Wales
87 mins: Do Wales have at least one more big chance in them?
They get the ball into the box, it’s flicked on, Ampadu heads from about eight yards out but straight at Cancarevic. Frustrated heads in hands from the 1,200 travelling Welsh fans.
SAVE! Armenia 1-1 Wales
85 mins: Not the most convincing stop by Cancarevic but he keeps it out. Jordan James crosse from the right but it’s behind Moore, who has to generate all the power int he header himself and he gets it on target but it never looks likely to go in.
Cancarevic bizarrely dives forward and pushes it away to the left rather than catching it but it falls for a defender to hack clear. A half-chance at most.
Armenia 1-1 Wales
84 mins: Williams dinks in a cross that’s easily cleared and Ampadu then sees his name in lights as he puts his foot through one from 30+ yards out but it ends up in a different postcode.
Rob Page giving ‘calm down’ signals on the sidelines. Wales continue to press.
Armenia 1-1 Wales
82 mins: Another Armenia corner as Spertsyan’s shot is blocked by a lunging Williams. The corner then hacked away as a dangerous ball fizzes across the box from the by-line. These are real warnings for Wales.
Armenia 1-1 Wales
81 mins: Well-worked corner by Armenia as Tiknizyan gets space on the left of the box but he slashes at the ball and skews it into the stands.
Into the final 10 minutes...
Armenia 1-1 Wales
78 mins: Dan James has a dart down the left but cuts in and his clipped cross is easily cleared. Jordan James then gets booked for bringing down an Armenian on halfway.
Sub for Wales as Nathan Broadhead comes on for Connor Roberts - it seems Dan James will go to left wing-back. Broadhead an attacking player who will try to grab a late goal as he did to snatch a draw against Croatia back in March.
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