Euro 2024 qualifying: Wales humiliated 4-2 at home by Armenia

Lucas Zelarayan's volley began Armenia's fightback successful Cardiff

Wales suffered 1 of their astir embarrassing and damaging defeats successful caller representation arsenic they mislaid astatine location to Armenia successful a chaotic and foul-tempered Euro 2024 qualifier.

There were past gasps of disbelief arsenic Grant-Leon Ranos was fixed the state of the Cardiff City Stadium to caput the visitors - 71 places beneath Wales successful the satellite rankings - into a first-half pb which was arsenic deserved arsenic it was shocking.

Wales had respective chances to equalise but their wasteful finishing was punished aft the interruption arsenic Ranos deed a good first-time changeable from the borderline of the country to nonstop Armenia's tiny contingent of travelling fans into raptures.

Harry Wilson pulled a extremity backmost for Wales with a small nether 20 minutes remaining, lone for Zelarayan to curl successful a superb 2nd to reconstruct Armenia's two-goal advantage.

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Any hopes Wales had of salvaging thing from this crippled were past dealt different stroke erstwhile striker Kieffer Moore was sent disconnected for an off-the-ball clash with Armenian goalkeeper Ognjen Chancharevich.

That last calamity acceptable the seal connected a nightmarish evening for Wales, who squandered the accidental to spell apical of Group D with erstwhile leaders Croatia alternatively successful Nations League action.

Rob Page and his Wales players indispensable present effort to retrieve from this humiliation successful clip for Monday's travel to look caller leaders Turkey, touted by galore arsenic their closest rivals for qualification down radical favourites Croatia.

Horror amusement from Wales

Wales striker Kieffer Moore was sent disconnected aft clashing with Armenia goalkeeper Ognjen Chancharevich

Wales were heavy criticised for past year's World Cup, wherever their archetypal quality astatine the tourney since 1958 was spoiled by 3 dismal performances which saw them knocked retired successful the radical stage.

A promising commencement to their Euro 2024 qualifying run successful March - drafting successful Croatia and beating Latvia astatine location - seemed to suggest Wales had purged themselves of their acquisition successful Qatar, but this show against Armenia suggested otherwise.

It could, oregon much pertinently should, person been straightforward. Within 10 minutes, the gait of Johnson and James overwhelmed Armenia arsenic they combined to enactment Wales ahead.

Instead of seizing power of the lucifer from that point, however, Wales surrendered it.

Armenia's archetypal extremity was a gem, Zelarayan's saccharine volley the benignant that you could constitute disconnected arsenic conscionable 1 of those things, a infinitesimal of idiosyncratic people - adjacent if Wales' defenders were sloppy successful tracking their runners.

But determination was nary justifying the second. Joe Rodon tried carrying the shot retired of defence but mislaid it carelessly and past his colleagues did thing to trim the masses of abstraction afforded Ranos to caput in.

Wales did not larn their lesson. As players rushed guardant successful the hopeless anticipation of getting themselves backmost into this game, they alternatively fell further down arsenic Ranos struck again.

The porous Welsh midfield practically invited their Armenian opponents into their punishment area, portion the location defence was passive and, astatine times, statuesque.

But it is not lone the players who should enarthrosis the work for this fearfulness show.

Just arsenic helium did against the United States and Iran astatine the World Cup, Page got this crippled horribly wrong.

Wales inactive person 5 games near to revive their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 but this effect could person long-lasting and superior ramifications for Page and his players.

Armenia savour celebrated win

While Wales wallow successful the humiliation of this result, Armenia tin bask successful the afterglow of 1 of their top victories.

They had mislaid 9 of their erstwhile 10 competitory matches, conceding 29 goals successful the process and sliding down to 97 successful the satellite rankings.

In Cardiff, however, they made a mockery of those statistics, harrying their opponents and counter-attacking astutely.

Their goals were nary flukes. Indeed, they could person scored much and, isolated from the occasional wayward shot, the visitors' finishing was supreme.

This was besides a infinitesimal to savour for their manager Oleksandr Petrakov, who had stood by the aforesaid touchline a twelvemonth agone arsenic his past Ukraine broadside were beaten by Wales successful their World Cup play-off final.

The symptom of that rain-soaked Sunday day whitethorn present person eased for Petrakov, portion the jubilation of World Cup qualification seems similar a distant representation for Wales.