On 6 June at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia will play a friendly against Kazakhstan. The game kicks off at 17:00 Moscow time.
Neither national team from the post-Soviet space is preparing for the World Cup. This is purely for themselves, to test connections and to please their supporters.
Armenia go into this friendly under the weight of a series of defeats that has stretched back to the middle of last autumn, with that run now reaching five losses. Kazakhstan have lost only once over the same period.
Yeghishe Melikyan has called up all the players available to him for the national team. There are a lot of foreign-based players who have had a busy season and are noticeably tired. Eduard Spertsyan, Nair Tiknizyan, Tigran Barseghyan and Edgar Sevikyan have flown to Yerevan from different leagues. The coaching staff are also counting on Hrant-Leon Ranos, who has been moving between loan spells in Germany. Despite his limited success in the German league, the 22-year-old forward is a threat at international level. Wales and Cyprus, against whom he scored a brace apiece, should remember that. Those teams are clearly no worse than Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan head coach Talgat Baysufinov will bring experienced players to Yerevan, including Zenit Saint Petersburg defender Nuraly Alip, Zhenis midfielder Islambek Kuat and Heart of Midlothian forward Islam Chesnokov. In attack, they are also counting on the young and lively Dastan Satpaev of Kairat Almaty, who embodies the new generation of Kazakh football. Goals are expected from him. The success the Snow Leopards have been achieving lately has taken their confidence to a new level. If they are not intimidated by Wales and Belgium, why should they fear Armenia, who are only four places above Kazakhstan in the FIFA rankings (106 against 110)?
The bookmakers give Armenia almost a twofold advantage. The home factor is clearly playing a role here, but constant defeats are bound to have an effect. Yes, in most cases the opponents really are stronger, but Armenia used to manage to beat such teams. The hosts can get this long-awaited win, but they will not leave the pitch without conceding. We will play it safe and will not take either side: the choice is both teams to score. The forwards in both teams are genuinely good.
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| Bookie | 1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
