On 28 February 2014, the Armenia national football team appointed Challandes as their manager with a two-year contract to lead the team during UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying after the former coach Vardan Minasyan decided in October 2013 not to sign a new deal with the Football Federation of Armenia, despite having an encouraging UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns. In May 2014. Challandes made his first squad announcement with Armenia for the friendly matches against United Arab Emirates and Algeria. He brought four new players into the squad: Aleksandr Tumasyan, Alex, Mauro Guevgeozián and Rumyan Hovsepyan. On 27 May 2014, Challandes had his first official match as Armenia manager in a 4–3 home win against United Arab Emirates. On 30 March 2015, Challandes resigned after Armenia failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016.
