YEREVAN, March 22. /ARKA/. Armenian national team captain and British Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan said today that in the League of Nations Armenia will face a difficult test.
"I think that there are a lot of difficulties for us in the League of Nations. Let nobody think that our foes in the league D are weak. In modern football there are no strong or weak rivals, we are going to have a serious test. We should do everything possible to fulfill the task and win every match,’ Mkhitaryan told reporters after the ceremony of getting the Best Footballer of the Year prize.
Speaking about the upcoming friendly games versus Estonia and Lithuania, he said the mood in the national team is high.
The friendly versus Estonia is scheduled for March 24 in Yerevan and the Armenia-Lithuania friendly match will be held on March 27.
"We will try to win both matches, despite the fact that our head coach is going to test various tactical changes and experiments, but that should in no way influence our desire to win," Mkhitaryan said.
According to him, the Armenian team needs to make maximum in these friendly games, as well as in games that will be held in late May and early June, in order to properly prepare for a League of Nations cycle.
Earlier this year Armenia had drawn foes Macedonia, Lichtenstein and Gibraltar in inaugural UEFA Nations League Draw in Lausanne, Switzerland. The UEFA Nations League is replacing most friendlies with competitive matches, allowing nations to play against equally ranked teams. The four group winners of the top-ranked League A will qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals in June 2019. For the other sides there are opportunities to get promoted, relegated and also secure a place in Euro 2020.
The 55 associations have been split into four leagues according to their position in the UEFA National Team Coefficient Rankings. Armenia is in the fourth league D together with Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino and Gibraltar.
The four group winners of League A will qualify for the Nations League finals which will take place in June 2019. The group winners of Leagues B, C and D gain promotion and those at the bottom of A, B and C will be relegated.
The four best placed finishers in each league tier of the Nations Cup that fail to qualify for Euro 2020 will then go into a play-off for one place – with a one legged semi-final and one legged final in March 2020.- 0-
16:22 22.03.2018
