Armenia vs. Georgia: Football Rivalry History and Upcoming Decisive Matches

The two national teams have faced each other 7 times in the past.

On March 20, Armenia’s national football team will host Georgia’s national team at home. This will be the first leg of the UEFA Nations League playoff. The return match will take place on March 23 in Tbilisi.

Armenia and Georgia first met on March 30, 1997. In that match, held in Tbilisi, the home team secured a resounding 7-0 victory. The reason for such a crushing defeat was that the Georgian team took the friendly match very seriously, while the Armenian side was unable to properly train and prepare due to the lack of a proper training field with a good grass pitch.

Three years later, the teams faced each other twice. At an international tournament in Cyprus, Georgia once again claimed victory, 2-1. On April 26, the sides played a friendly match at the "Hrazdan" stadium in Yerevan, which ended in a goalless draw.

Their fourth encounter also took place in Cyprus in 2004. This time, Armenia took revenge for the previous defeat, winning 2-0.

In 2011, the two teams agreed to hold another friendly match in Cyprus. Despite having the upper hand in the game, Armenia ultimately lost 1-2.

The next two encounters took place in 2020 during the UEFA Nations League group stage. Due to the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia had to host the match in the Polish city of Tychy. Thanks to a penalty converted by Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 89th minute, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. On November 15, the return match in Tbilisi saw Armenia claim a 2-1 victory, securing first place in the group and earning promotion to League B for the first time.

Overall, Armenia and Georgia have played 7 matches against each other. The Armenian team has won twice, drawn twice, and lost three times. Due to the unfortunate 0-7 defeat, the total goal tally stands at 14-8 in favor of Georgia.

If Armenia wins the two-leg tie against Georgia, it will secure promotion to League B; otherwise, it will remain in League C.

The match in Yerevan on March 20 will kick off at 21:00, while the return match in Tbilisi on March 23 will start at 18:00.