Arif Asadov: "We expected defeat, but not such a crushing one"

"The team was focused on defense throughout the game. The opponent was playing at home, defeat was possible, but we did not expect such a disastrous result."

Idman.biz reports that this was stated in a statement to Telegraf by Arif Asadov, the former head coach of the Azerbaijani national team, while talking about the team's heavy defeat with a score of 0:5 in the match against Iceland.

The 55-year-old expert saw the reason for the crushing defeat in the incorrect construction of the game plan: "There may be various reasons, but the lack of game practice and physical fitness of the players may affect this. The main reason is the incorrect construction of the game plan. Throughout the match, the team only thought about defense. We retreated to our zone and lost the ball quickly after gaining possession. Even 3-4 passes were not successful.

Apparently, the players were given such an assignment. Because not one or two people, but the whole team was trying not to concede a goal in defense. After gaining possession of the ball, they did not open up much to join the attack so that they would not be caught in a counterattack.

When the opponent constantly controls the ball and sits on defense, energy is depleted. In such games, one conceded goal leads to another. Just like it happened yesterday."

Idman.biz