Armenia look for home comforts

'Anyone can qualify'
The hosts will be vying with Spain, Ukraine and Turkey for the only qualification berth on offer from the section, and coach Armen Gyulbudaghyants feels they have a realistic chance of progressing. "At the moment, anyone can qualify," he said. "Each team has 90 minutes in each game to prove their strength. In that respect, we're similar to our opponents as we want to top our group at the end."

Italian tour
Preparations certainly appear to be going well, following a successful friendly tournament in Italy between 2 and 12 May. Gyulbudaghyants's charges registered 4-1 wins over the youth teams of Monza Calcio and Vicenza Calcio, then drew 2-2 against Brescia Calcio before earning a 4-1 victory over local giants Juventus.

'International experience'
"Such tournaments are very important as the players gain international experience," explained the man in the dugout. "This is the key factor for our team, as the last time we participated in an international match was in 2007, when we played in Lithuania in the qualifying round. I'm satisfied with the players' condition and hope we can achieve our goal, although I understand how difficult it will be."

Pyunik dominance
Armenia's promising results in Italy may well be linked to the fact that 14 players from the squad of 20 ply their trade at the same club, FC Pyunik. They are joined by two youngsters from FC Banants and FC Ararat Yerevan goalkeeper Gevorg Prazyan, along with three players based abroad: Sergey Hovhannisyan of Finnish outfit Jalkapalloseura Rakuunat, Hamburger SV's Levon Hayrapetyan and Artak Aleksanyan of FC Spartak Moskva.

Problematic suspensions
Unfortunately for Gyulbudaghyants, key men Henrik Mkhitaryan, Sargis Karapetyan and Edgar Malakyan will miss Armenia's first two matches through suspension, with their opener pitting them against Turkey on 22 May before they face Ukraine two days later. "We can only select 18 players for the tournament and at the moment I can't name the full squad," commented the coach. "Obviously, we have some major difficulties with personnel."

Mkhitaryan confident
Despite his suspension, Armenia's best player Mkhitaryan retains plenty of belief in his colleagues, saying: "There are no weak opponents in the Elite round; we have no illusions. However, just like our opponents, we will be playing to win. I hope we'll manage to play our best football and that home advantage will help us to get a qualification berth into the finals." The squad are now set to attend their final training camp in the capital, Yerevan, where they will undergo their last week of preparations before the serious business begins.