How Tomas Adoryan Made His Debut for the Armenian National Team

On June 6, in a friendly match against Kosovo, midfielder Tomas Adoryan from the Argentine club Banfield played his first game for the Armenian national team.

The 23-year-old came on right after halftime with Armenia leading 2-1, replacing Jirair Shaghoyan on the left wing. The match eventually ended in a 2-5 defeat, but it would be unfair to place any blame on Adoryan for the result.

Tomas arrived in Armenia early for the training camp. He was already in Yerevan on May 30 and among the first to start training with the team. This gave him time to get acquainted with his new teammates and the head coach. He has also already given his first interview in Armenia.

In the first minutes after coming on, Adoryan was very active — he immediately started causing problems on his flank, where Kosovo captain Mërgim Vojvoda was playing. Several of his actions resulted in corner kicks. Overall, he looked solid in the first 15 minutes of the second half, just like the rest of the team. But after Kosovo equalized with a penalty in the 61st minute, making it 2-2, the game completely shifted. Armenia lost control of the ball, and Kosovo began to dominate the pitch.

Now a bit about tactics and Adoryan’s role.

Although he was deployed on the left wing, he played differently from Shaghoyan in the first half. Tomas often dropped deeper — in defensive phases he lined up alongside Spertsyan, and at times even covered for Nair Tiknizyan when the left-back moved forward. Early on, they managed to combine well, but later Tiknizyan got tired, and his replacement Edgar Grigoryan rarely joined the attack.

It’s worth noting that Adoryan previously played in Uruguay for Rampla Juniors as a central midfielder, so he feels comfortable defending. That might be exactly why John van’t Schip decided to bring him on — to add balance in the second half, as Kosovo had to push for an equalizer and attack more.

Adoryan often played on the same line as the central midfielders.

However, Armenia’s problems started on the opposite flank and in the center, where Gor Manvelyan, who came on for Hovhannes Harutyunyan, failed to fulfill his role — he lost the ball often and struggled in duels. Defensive midfielder Tigran Avanesyan also began to fall behind and couldn’t cover space effectively (Avanesyan, by the way, is also practically a newcomer; he played the full match but had previously only logged a few minutes in a friendly against the Czech Republic). In this context, even Adoryan’s efforts couldn’t change the course of the match.

Still, one thing became clear: he has great potential. He could become an important player for the national team in the future. His versatility and physical attributes make him a valuable asset — especially as the starting lineup stabilizes by September, ahead of the official matches (hopefully).

Before the match, the head coach commented on his squad selection:

“Right now, we play a style of football that requires physically strong wingers who can also play in multiple positions and constantly press. For example, Tomas Adoryan — he can play both on the wing and in central midfield,” said van’t Schip.

Adoryan can play centrally alongside Spertsyan and Iwu in a 4-3-3 formation or cover the flank while supporting Tiknizyan. In any case, he brought added physicality and tactical flexibility to the team — something that was lacking, given that the starting attacking trio (Serobyan, Shaghoyan, Sevikyan) are all technically gifted but relatively small players, each under 175 cm tall.

Of course, Armenia’s biggest issue remains the lack of a striker who can hold up the ball and provide a focal point in attack. Adoryan doesn’t solve that problem, but he does add depth and versatility — which is vital over a long campaign. How the team and the head coach utilize that remains to be seen.

On June 9, Armenia will face Montenegro away in another friendly, and then on September 6, they will take on Portugal in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.