Everton star Jake O’Brien had a ‘night to forget’ as the Republic of Ireland fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Armenia in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday night.
Heimir Hallgrimsson's side went into the game under heavy pressure, as they had to win to stand a realistic chance of qualifying from Group F, following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hungary in Dublin.
Despite starting on the front foot, with Evan Ferguson’s first-half effort headed off the line, Ireland rarely troubled the Armenians thereafter as Eduard Spertsyan put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot before half-time.
Ireland’s woes deepened when Grant-Leon Ranos doubled Armenia’s lead six minutes into the second half, giving the hosts breathing space despite Ferguson quickly pulling a goal back.
The result left Ireland with just one point from two qualifiers, while local media were unimpressed with the team’s overall performance, including Everton man O’Brien, who was blamed for a mistake leading to Armenia’s second goal.
Everton's Jake O’Brien Disappoints v Armenia
Jake O'Brien
Irish broadcaster RTE gave O’Brien a 5/10 for his performance in the 2-1 defeat to Armenia and claimed the 24-year-old defender was partly to blame for the hosts’ second goal:
“Tasked with the long throws on either side, it was his cross to the far post on 31 minutes that led to a headed opportunity for Nathan Collins.
“But defensively, the Everton man got caught out completely by a pass in behind him on 50 minutes which led to Armenia's second goal. Like almost all of his team-mates, a night to forget the longer it went on.”
O’Brien, who made his Ireland debut in June 2024, won his ninth cap on Tuesday night and played the full 90 minutes for a second game in a row under Hallgrimsson.
The Cork-born defender started in a back three alongside Brentford’s Nathan Collins and Ipswich Town’s Dara O’Shea, and struggled to make a positive impact.
O’Brien won just one of his three ground duels, lost possession 19 times, completed only one accurate long ball out of six and registered a 78% (38/49) pass accuracy.
The 24-year-old, who joined Everton from Lyon last summer, has played every single minute of the Toffees’ Premier League campaign so far, helping David Moyes’ side to wins over Brighton and Wolves.
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