{"id":295559,"date":"2023-11-18T21:25:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T21:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295559"},"modified":"2023-11-18T21:25:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T21:25:20","slug":"wales-relying-on-a-croatia-slip-up-after-only-drawing-in-armenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/wales-relying-on-a-croatia-slip-up-after-only-drawing-in-armenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales relying on a Croatia slip-up after only drawing in Armenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wales saw Euro 2024 qutomatic qualification taken out of their hands in Armenia <\/p>\n

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Welsh hopes of qualifying automatically for Euro 2024 were dented by a 1-1 draw in Armenia.<\/p>\n

Lucas Zelarayan came back to haunt Wales again with a fifth-minute opener before a Nair Tiknizyan own goal in first-half stoppage time restored parity.<\/p>\n

The draw helps neither side as far as joining already-qualified Turkey in the top two is concerned.<\/p>\n

Even beating Turkey in Cardiff on Tuesday would not be enough for Wales should Croatia win their final two fixtures.<\/p>\n

If Croatia win those games, then Wales will be involved in the March play-offs.<\/p>\n

Armenia\u2019s chances of a top-two place are almost certainly over, barring a Croatia collapse.<\/p>\n

Wales had a score to settle with Armenia after their humiliating 4-2 defeat in Cardiff five months ago, a result which left them playing catch-up in the race for next summer\u2019s tournament in Germany.<\/p>\n

Rob Page\u2019s side also had to turn the tide of history as Wales had never beaten Armenia in three previous meetings.<\/p>\n

Wales were unchanged from the side that produced last month\u2019s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia.<\/p>\n

Brennan Johnson missed that game through injury and the Tottenham forward, fresh from his first Spurs goal, had to make do with a place on the bench.<\/p>\n

Armenia \u2013 ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below Wales \u2013 showed nine survivors from the team who had won in Cardiff in June, including Grant-Leon Ranos and Zelarayan who both scored twice then.<\/p>\n

Wales were behind inside five minutes after failing to deal with a corner.<\/p>\n

Danny Ward hesitated before Joe Rodon\u2019s poor header looped towards Zelarayan, who shifted the ball onto his right foot and found the bottom corner with unerring accuracy.<\/p>\n

David Brooks fired over in reply and Neco Williams saw his effort deflected wide after Kieffer Moore had pounced on a home mistake.<\/p>\n

Moore headed wide but Wales were generally unable to sustain attacks, with Armenia dangerous on the counter.<\/p>\n

Vahan Bichakhchyan drove inches wide from one such raid, and Wales suffered another blow as Chris Mepham\u2019s challenge on Zelarayan earned him a yellow card to rule him out of the Turkey game.<\/p>\n

Wales went close after 37 minutes when Williams pulled the ball back into Harry Wilson\u2019s path and goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic was at full stretch to save.<\/p>\n

Then, just seconds from the interval, Connor Roberts sent over a long throw and Tiknizyan, under pressure from Rodon, headed into his own net.<\/p>\n

Johnson replaced Brooks within three minutes of the restart and the contest was developing a spicy edge, with Varazdat Haroyan cautioned for chopping down Wilson and Ethan Ampadu similarly punished for his reaction to the challenge.<\/p>\n

Armenia went mightily close as Bichakhchyan\u2019s chip drifted over the head of Ward and onto the crossbar.<\/p>\n

The crowd held its breath as Zelarayan seemed certain to bury the rebound but instead, the game\u2019s best player sliced it over.<\/p>\n

Armenia were slowly turning the screw, though Cancarevic was tested from outside the box by Jordan James and needed a second attempt to gather.<\/p>\n

Eduard Spertsyan had a clear sight of goal before being denied by one of an increasing number of last-gasp Welsh blocks.<\/p>\n

Moore\u2019s header was held by Cancarevic and in a frantic finale, Ward produced a flying stop to deny substitute Edgar Sevikyan, who later shot wide with the goal at his mercy.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wales saw Euro 2024 qutomatic qualification taken out of their hands in Armenia Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"\nWales relying on a Croatia slip-up after only drawing in Armenia - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/wales-relying-on-a-croatia-slip-up-after-only-drawing-in-armenia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wales relying on a Croatia slip-up after only drawing in Armenia - 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