Tahir Bakhshiyev: "We can return victorious from the match against Ireland"

The Azerbaijani national men's basketball team has the strength to defeat Ireland in the preliminary qualifying round of EURO-2029. Sport24.az reports that this was stated by the head coach of the national team, Tahir Bakhshiyev, in a statement to the press service of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation.

The head coach emphasized that the main focus is on the first match against Ireland:

"Our main focus is on the match with Ireland. We have analyzed the opponent's games. Our naturalized player will also join the team directly there. We will also have two trainings there. We believe that we have the strength. If we fight well, we will return victorious from the away game."

The specialist said that despite the lack of time for preparation, the condition of the basketball players is good:

"We have little time. The condition of the guys is normal, we have had good trainings. Only Akbar Mammadov and Ismayil Abdullayev will not be able to help us due to injuries. Everything is fine with the other players. We know that the game with Ireland will be difficult. They also started with two defeats like us. In addition, they will play in their own field. I can't say anything now. There are 4 games ahead. We do not know how Luxembourg will play in their field. We should think about our own games."

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani national team will hold its next matches within the qualifying round on February 27 against Ireland and on March 2 against the North Macedonian team.