“Spertsyan is the main danger”: Kazakhstan assesses Armenia ahead of the match in Yerevan

On June 6, the Armenia national football team will play a friendly match against Kazakhstan in Yerevan. The game will take place at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium and will be one of Armenia’s two warm-up matches before the start of the Nations League, scheduled for September.

Ahead of the match, Sportaran.com spoke with Alexey Tarnovsky, editor of the Kazakh internet portal Sport.kz, to find out what shape Kazakhstan are in before the game in Yerevan, which Armenia players are feared most in Kazakhstan, and how the team’s prospects are viewed after the departure of Stanislav Cherchesov.

It should be noted that earlier Sports.kz also spoke with Sportaran.com editor Vahe Hakobyan about the upcoming match. In that article, we noted that the game against Kazakhstan has additional importance for Armenia: the team is currently on a five-match losing streak and needs a win even in a friendly.

In addition, the match against Kazakhstan is viewed with special interest in Armenia because of the historical closeness of the former Soviet countries and the opportunity to compare the footballing paths of the two national teams after independence. Sportaran.com also noted that on June 6 Armenia will most likely field the strongest available lineup, although due to injuries the team will be unable to count on several key players.

“Kazakhstan are approaching the match in excellent condition”

According to Tarnovsky, Kazakhstan are approaching the June friendlies in good condition. Head coach Talgat Baysufinov has called up almost all of the strongest available players, including Dastan Satpayev, who had previously missed the newly created FIFA Series tournament.

“The team are approaching the match in excellent condition. For the two friendly matches, national team head coach Talgat Baysufinov called up all of the strongest available performers, including Dastan Satpayev, who missed the newly created FIFA Series tournament. Fortunately, everything is fine with him now,” Tarnovsky noted.

At the same time, Kazakhstan have not avoided personnel issues entirely. Midfielder Serikzhan Muzhikov arrived at the national team camp with an injury, and the coaching staff decided to call up Adilet Sadybekov instead.

“The main danger is Eduard Spertsyan”

Among Armenia’s players, Kazakh fans know defender Kamo Hovhannisyan well. He previously played in the Kazakhstan Premier League for Zhetysu, Kairat and Astana, and also became a two-time champion of the country.

However, Tarnovsky named Krasnodar captain and Armenia leader Eduard Spertsyan as the main player Kazakhstan should expect danger from.

“If we are talking specifically about concerns, the answer is obvious — Eduard Spertsyan. I think it is long overdue for him to play in one of Europe’s top leagues. He can definitely become the new Mkhitaryan for the Armenia national team, and perhaps even surpass him,” said the Sport.kz editor.

Kazakhstan’s goal in the Nations League is to fight for first place

In the autumn, Kazakhstan will begin their campaign in the new edition of the Nations League. According to Tarnovsky, the team expects to fight for first place in its group and promotion to Division B.

He sees Slovakia as the main rival.

“I expect a battle with Slovakia for first place in our group and promotion to Division B. That is also the task set by the coaching staff. I believe this is fully within our capabilities now. In 2022, although it was sensational, Kazakhstan beat Slovakia twice in the Nations League. So why not repeat it again?” he noted.

Speaking about Armenia, Tarnovsky compared the team’s style to Moldova — one of the teams Kazakhstan will face in the Nations League.

“With all due respect to the Armenia national team, they are more reminiscent of Moldova. The Faroe Islands have improved dramatically. In World Cup qualifying, they beat Czechia and thrashed Montenegro, who are clearly not among the weakest teams on the continent. They are no longer the point supplier they used to be, even for opponents comparable in level to Kazakhstan.”

“Under Cherchesov and Baysufinov, they are two different teams”

Another topic was the departure of Stanislav Cherchesov as Kazakhstan head coach. In the opinion of the Kazakh journalist, the team has looked better since the coaching change.

“Of course. I think this is obvious to every Kazakhstan national team fan. What was more upsetting was not even the failure in terms of results, but a certain lack of will from the players under Cherchesov. Perhaps he is not a bad motivator, but he is clearly not a good specialist. The current team under Baysufinov and the team under Cherchesov are two completely different teams. Now it is much more pleasant to watch the national team,” Tarnovsky stated.

Cherchesov coached Kazakhstan in 2024. During that period, the team lost five times and drew once, failing to score a single goal.

Why there are fewer Armenian footballers in Kazakhstan

In recent years, the number of Armenian footballers in the Kazakhstan championship has indeed noticeably decreased. However, Sportaran.com’s interviewee does not believe this is necessarily connected to the foreign player limit.

“I would not look for a conspiracy theory regarding the foreign player limit. That is clearly not the reason. Armenian footballers have left a significant mark on the history of Kazakh football, and everything depends solely on whether it is reasonable for any foreign player to be part of a particular club,” he said.

Kazakhstan will support Uzbekistan at the 2026 World Cup

We also asked Tarnovsky about the attitude in Kazakhstan toward Uzbekistan’s historic qualification for the 2026 World Cup. According to him, people in Kazakhstan are happy about this success and will support their neighbors at the world championship.

“We are simply happy for the Uzbekistan national team and their breakthrough. Everything had been moving toward this for a long time, and now the stars have aligned. I am convinced that everyone in Kazakhstan will support them at the World Cup, including me,” he noted.

At the same time, the journalist believes that Kazakhstan could theoretically also have achieved a similar result if they competed in Asian qualifying. However, he emphasized that European football gives the team a higher level of opposition.

“On the one hand, I think Kazakhstan could have done it. But on the other hand, it is obvious to everyone that the level of opponents in European qualifying is much higher. This means that in such conditions there is an opportunity not only to try to prove yourself against the best, but also to reach the same World Cup through the Nations League, even after completely failing in qualifying. The example of Sweden is especially telling here,” Tarnovsky added.

Prediction for Armenia vs Kazakhstan

Speaking about the upcoming friendly in Yerevan, Tarnovsky suggested that the teams will play quite openly.

“I think the teams will play for their own enjoyment. I can see either a high-scoring draw or a one-goal victory for one of the teams,” said the Sport.kz editor.

Earlier, in an interview with Sports.kz, Sportaran suggested that the match would be difficult and interesting, and that Armenia could claim a narrow victory. For his part, Alexey Tarnovsky allows for either a high-scoring draw or a one-goal win for one of the teams.

The Armenia vs Kazakhstan match will take place on June 6 in Yerevan. After that game, Armenia will also play a friendly against Moldova on June 9.

The first-ever match between Armenia and Kazakhstan took place 22 years ago

Armenia and Kazakhstan know each other well: the upcoming match will be the ninth meeting in the history of the two national teams.

The first-ever match between Armenia and Kazakhstan took place on February 19, 2004, in Paphos as part of a friendly tournament. Regular time ended in a high-scoring 3:3 draw, while Kazakhstan won the penalty shootout 3:2.

Since then, the teams have played seven more matches: three friendlies, two games in European Championship qualifying and two in World Cup qualifying.

Armenia vs Kazakhstan head-to-head history

19.02.2004 — friendly match
Kazakhstan — Armenia — 3:3, pens. 3:2

02.06.2007 — Euro 2008 qualifying
Kazakhstan — Armenia — 1:2

21.11.2007 — Euro 2008 qualifying
Armenia — Kazakhstan — 0:1

26.03.2008 — friendly match
Armenia — Kazakhstan — 1:0

05.06.2012 — friendly match
Armenia — Kazakhstan — 3:0

26.03.2017 — 2018 World Cup qualifying
Armenia — Kazakhstan — 2:0

08.10.2017 — 2018 World Cup qualifying
Kazakhstan — Armenia — 1:1

07.06.2024 — friendly match
Armenia — Kazakhstan — 2:1

Overall record: 5 wins for Armenia, 2 draws and 1 win for Kazakhstan.