Armenians vs Armenia: Who Played for Other National Teams

Today, March 29, a friendly match between the national teams of Armenia and Belarus will take place in Yerevan. Additional intrigue is added by the story of forward Karen Vardanyan — a player of Armenian descent who chose to represent the Belarus national team.

The 22-year-old striker said ahead of the match that he feels Belarusian, which is why he made his choice in favor of that national team. Armenia head coach Yegishe Melikyan admitted that he had been following the player and considered calling him up, but the move did not materialize.

Karen Vardanyan is a prolific forward. For two consecutive seasons in the Belarusian league, he has scored 10 goals, so it is no surprise that Melikyan considered him for the Armenian national team, especially given Armenia’s attacking issues.

Vardanyan’s father is Armenian, but he grew up in Belarus and was raised by his mother, which largely influenced his decision.

Ahead of the match, we recall other cases when players of Armenian origin took the field against Armenia while representing other national teams.

Players of Armenian Origin Who Played Against Armenia

Youri Djorkaeff and Alain Boghossian (France)
Two of the most famous players of Armenian descent in world football have played against Armenia multiple times.

• 1996, Lille — friendly match (2–0). Djorkaeff played the first half and scored a goal.
• 1999, Paris — Euro 2000 qualifiers (2–0). Boghossian played the full match, Djorkaeff — 69 minutes
• 1999, Yerevan — Euro 2000 qualifiers (3–2). Djorkaeff played the full match and recorded an assist

Later, France won UEFA Euro 2000. Djorkaeff took part in the tournament and scored two goals.

Youri Djorkaeff vs Armenia

Andrey Khachaturyan (Belarus)
In 2012, he made his debut for Belarus in a friendly against Armenia in Yerevan (2–1). Previously, he had represented Armenia’s youth team but ultimately chose Belarus. He earned 8 caps in total.

Artyom Filiposyan (Uzbekistan)
In 2010, he played against Armenia in Yerevan (3–1), completing all 90 minutes. He later established himself in the Uzbekistan national team, making 14 appearances.

Gevorg Karapetyan, Tero Keheyan and Vardan Ghazaryan (Lebanon)
In 1999, they played in a friendly match against Armenia in Abovyan (1–0).

• Karapetyan and Ghazaryan played the full match
• Keheyan played the second half

Vardan Ghazaryan stands out in particular, with 41 caps and 19 goals for Lebanon. Karapetyan and Ghazaryan began their careers in Armenia before switching sporting nationality, while Keheyan was born in Lebanon.

Arsen Bagdasaryan (Turkmenistan)
In 2004, he started against Armenia (1–0) but was substituted in the 13th minute due to injury. That match became his last for the national team.

A Recent Youth Example

Airik Balasanov (Lithuania U17)
In 2023, he played in a friendly against Armenia U17 (1–1), representing Lithuania’s youth team at the time. The 19-year-old midfielder now plays in Italy.

In 2010, Andranik Teymourian had a chance to play against Armenia. He was one of the leaders and captains of Iran’s national team but did not feature in the friendly match in Yerevan.

A Special Case

Arshak Koryan
A product of Russian football, he represented Russia’s youth teams (U16–U21) but also played two friendlies for Armenia U17 — both against Russia.

Later, he continued his career in Russian teams but chose Armenia at senior level, making 5 appearances.

Stories of players with Armenian roots representing other national teams are not uncommon in modern football. In the era of globalization and migration, not only heritage but also the country where a player grows up and develops plays a crucial role.

The Armenia vs Belarus match will take place on March 29 at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan and will kick off at 18:00 local time.