You want to root, root, root for the home team (sorry, that’s a baseball reference), but don’t know why, other than blind nationalism or the fact that Armenian team sport has given us so little to “root” about. You want to appear as a seasoned veteran of the game, but, well, you aren’t. You want to know the difference between a yellow card and a red card other than the obvious. You want a reason to get happy about men shorts other than the potential obvious. The following is for you ...

Question: Why is tonight’s game in Dublin such a big deal?
Answer: Tonight, at 10:45 p.m. Armenia time, Team Armenia has the chance to become the first Armenian team since independence to make it to an international-level soccer tournament by going into a two-leg playoff with a chance to qualify for UEFA Euro-2012 Championship.

Q: What is UEFA?
A: UEFA stands for the Union of European Football Associations. It is made up of 53 member associations. Armenia became a member in 1992. Qualifying for the European Championship is a two-year process, from which only 14 teams are qualified. Till this year, Armenia has never advanced beyond the fourth place in a six-nation group in 2004 qualifying. There are nine “groups”. Armenia competes in Group B against Russia, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Andorra. Entering tonight’s match, Armenia is in 3rd place, with 17 points, a point behind Ireland.


Q: Points? You mean goals?
A: No. Points refer to a number accumulated over the course of a season or tournament. A team gets 3 points if it wins, a point for a draw and zero point for a loss.

Q: If Armenia wins tonight, what happens?
A: A win will give Armenia a chance to play two matches against the runner-up of one of other seven groups in the middle of November and hope to reach the Euro-2012 finals to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine next summer.


Q: If Armenia loses tonight, what happens?
A: Armenia finishes in the third position, with the Republic of Ireland going into the playoff. Still would be the highest for Armenia to achieve in terms of position, points, goal difference, etc.

Q: If Armenia draws tonight, what happens?
A: A draw will still leave Armenia in third place behind Russia and the Republic of Ireland.

Q: So, other than when they players fall down as if shot by a sniper, or when someone shouts goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllll!, I don’t know much about what’s taking place on the field (I guess you call that “pitch”, right?). So how do I know if Armenia is playing well, other than by the score.
A: Armenia’s chances of success tonight are likely to rest on: solid defense, midfield ball possession, accurate passing and combination play to create chances near the opponent’s goal, finishing skills by one of several goal-scoring players.

Q: Which Armenian players should I keep an eye on?
A: Ideally, all 11 (plus three possible substitute players). Forwards Yura Movsisyan, Marcos Pizzelli, Gevorg Ghazaryan, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Roman Berezovsky between the sticks, and others deserve particular attention.

Q: Which Irish players should I keep an (evil) eye on?
A: With the absence of key Ireland player Robbie Keane, all eyes in Ireland are now set on his replacement Simon Cox. Other major players to watch are veteran goalkeeper Shay Given, who is the captain of the team, former Manchester United defender John O’Shea, former Chelsea midfielder Damien Duff, Spartak Moscow winger Aiden McGeady and others.

Q: It’s too late to fly to Dublin. How can I watch the match?
A: The game will be broadcast on Armenian Public Television H1, beginning at 10:30 pm Yerevan time (7:30 pm CET). It can also be followed on www.uefa.com. Fans in Yerevan are also expected to gather in “French Square” across from Opera House to watch on big-screen monitors.