Arif Asadov: It was important to get a result in the game against Ukraine, and we managed to do it

"After a heavy defeat to the Iceland national team, we saw a more determined team on the field yesterday." Arif Asadov said this in an interview with Sport24.az.

The experienced specialist shared his thoughts on the Azerbaijan national team's match against Ukraine in the D-2026 qualifying round:

"The Ukrainian national team is a strong opponent, fighting for 1st-2nd places in the group. Therefore, in this meeting, it was more important to get a result than a good game, which we managed to do. Although the opponent had a territorial advantage, our team defended correctly and did not leave gaps. Aykhan Abbasov managed to prepare the players psychologically for the game in a short time. The team was well-tuned for the game and carried out the tasks given. After the match with the Iceland national team, the AFFA leadership made the right decision and made a decision quickly. Fernando Santos was sent away, and Aykhan Abbasov was assigned to the post, albeit temporarily. They were able to change the atmosphere in the team. Maybe if it wasn't like that, we could have experienced another fiasco. Our local coaches are better at raising the morale of the players. This is one of the most important factors in the national team. Although we are behind the opponent in terms of skill level, we were able to add points to our assets yesterday due to determination. Congratulations on the one point earned."

It should be noted that the Azerbaijan-Ukraine match, which took place at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium, ended with a score of 1:1.