Jake O’Brien slammed as Everton star suffers shock defeat in World Cup qualifiers
Jake O’Brien has been with the Republic of Ireland over the past week as he looks to impress away from Everton.
The defender has had a good start to the season for David Moyes’ side, and has started in every Premier League match.
O’Brien’s performance against Leeds was a particular highlight, with the 24-year-old having a solid game despite the defeat.
With the Republic of Ireland now looking to qualify for the World Cup, Moyes would have been hoping for this form to continue before their match against Aston Villa on the weekend.
However, this does not appear to be the case.
Jake O’Brien ‘had night to forget’ in Armenia defeat
The Republic of Ireland suffered a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw against Hungary, Ireland started well, with O’Brien impressing against the Central European side.
However, this was far from the case on Wednesday, as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Armenia to end the international break bottom of their group.
O’Brien was unfortunately one of the stars who struggled throughout the match, despite playing the full 90 minutes.
- O’Brien signed for Everton in 2024 from Lyon
- The defender can be played at both centre-back and right-back
- O’Brien has started in every Premier League match so far this season
On 9 September, The Irish Times gave the Everton star a 3/10, claiming he was “caught badly in behind for the home side’s second goal”.
Rte largely agrees with this assessment, however, gives his display a higher 5/10 despite having a “night to forget”.
Balls is also quick to highlight his error for Armenia’s second, believing his performance “deteriorated” after the mistake, resulting in a 4/10.
- Read more: How the national media rated Everton’s Jordan Pickford in record-equalling England display
How bad was Jake O’Brien against Armenia?
O’Brien’s performance against Armenia was clearly poor, with the defender doing little to impress.
Looking at his stats from the match on Fotmob on 10 September, the 24-year-old had a few positive moments, with his passing accuracy being a major issue.
| Jake O’Brien vs Armenia | |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Passing accuracy | 78% |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Defensive contributions | 3 |
| Dribble success rate | 33% |
| Long ball accuracy | 17% |
This could well be an issue for Moyes, with Everton facing Aston Villa on Saturday in what will be a tough test.
Another similar display for the Toffees could see them drop points and put a dent in their early-season form.
Sign up for the Goodison News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Everton news sent straight to your phone.