Armenian champions FC Ararat-Armenia have advanced to the second qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, eliminating Latvian champions Riga FC 4-3 on aggregate on Tuesday, reports Zartonk Sports.
FC Ararat-Armenia will face Irish champions Shamrock Rovers in the second qualifying round. The first leg takes place at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan on Tuesday, July 21, with the return leg at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin a week later on Tuesday, July 28.
The matchup was played over two legs, with the winner decided by the combined score. Ararat-Armenia won the first leg 2-0 at home in Armenia, which meant Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat in Latvia was not enough to undo them: the Armenian champions survived 4-3 across the two matches.
Ararat-Armenia built their lead at home a week earlier, with Hugo Oliveira scoring in the 63rd minute and substitute Carlos Franca making it 2-0 in the 85th against a Riga side reduced to ten men. The return leg was far tougher. Iago Siqueira scored in the 14th minute and Ahmed Ankra added a second in the 23rd, and by halftime the Armenians were losing 2-0 with the lead gone.
Portuguese head coach Manuel Tulipa reshuffled his defense at the break and brought on captain Armen Hambardzumyan, and it worked immediately: Zhirayr Shaghoyan scored a minute into the second half, and Sandro Lima leveled the match in the 63rd with a long-range strike, putting Ararat-Armenia back in front overall. Riga won a stoppage-time penalty, converted by Reginaldo Ramirez in the 94th for a 3-2 win on the night, but it was not enough. Tulipa credited Hambardzumyan’s introduction as the turning point and said Riga had the edge on paper. “In my opinion, Riga had the stronger squad in terms of individual names,” he said, arguing that a team in that position wins by making the right decisions on the pitch, which is why his side advanced.
Reaching this stage already guarantees Ararat-Armenia European football into the fall. Even if they fall to Shamrock Rovers, they will drop into the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round rather than exit Europe. Win, and they advance to the Champions League third qualifying round in early August.
The Opponent: Shamrock Rovers
Ararat-Armenia’s opponents were decided the same night, and Shamrock Rovers arrive in form. The Irish champions looked finished after losing 2-0 in Malta, but demolished Floriana 5-1 in Dublin to advance 5-3 on aggregate, with Lee Grace, Dylan Watts, John McGovern, Graham Burke and Jack Byrne all scoring. It was the first time they scored five goals in a European match since 1957, and the first time an Irish club had ever overturned a two-goal deficit in Europe.
A Team Built On Armenian Players
Tulipa also made a point that sets his side apart. Asked about the squad, he challenged anyone to name another Armenian club fielding so many Armenian players and internationals: Kamo Hovhannisyan, Artur Serobyan, Zhirayr Shaghoyan, Edgar Grigoryan, Armen Hambardzumyan, Karen Muradyan and others. Many clubs compete in Europe leaning on foreign imports, he said. Giving Armenian footballers the chance to perform at this level develops the domestic game, and having them in decisive roles is an achievement for the club.
Tulipa said the team is taking it one match at a time, but he believes they deserve to reach the league phase of a European competition, and that the goal is to earn as many coefficient points as possible for Armenia.
