YEREVAN — In the second round of Group F in the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Armenia’s national team defeated Ireland 2-1 at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. Eduard Spertsyan opened the scoring in the 45+1st minute, confidently converting a penalty. This was Spertsyan’s 10th goal for the national team and his third against Ireland. At the start of the second half, Armenia continued to press, and in the 51st minute, Grant-Leon Ranos doubled the lead, scoring his first goal for the national team in two years. Ireland managed to respond quickly, with Evan Ferguson finding the net in the 57th minute. One minute before the end of regular time, substitute Artur Serobyan scored what appeared to be Armenia’s third goal, but the referee disallowed it for offside. With this result, after two rounds, Armenia sits second in Group F with three points.