Sport24.az
The Azerbaijan national team lost to France with a score of 0:3 in the away match within the qualifying round of the DÇ-2026. Sport24.az reports that the head coach of our national team, Aykhan Abbasov, answered journalists' questions at the press conference held after the game.
"We knew yesterday that the game would be difficult. We also saw how seriously the opponent prepared. There was also fan support, they put pressure from the first minutes. We conceded a goal in the last minute of the first half. Maybe if we could have endured, the opponent would have come at us even harder in the second half. The opponent's skill was at a high level. My players showed determination. This is also important. After wanting and being important, it will be easier in the future. It is necessary to gain experience by playing with these teams. I thank my players for their determination. In three days, a more difficult game awaits us. We will prepare for the game with Ukraine. God willing, we will continue."
- How would you rate Mahir Emreli's game?
- In my opinion, Mahir had one of his best games in recent times. He was determined. The failure of our attacks was due to the opponent's pressure - they didn't allow it. He had difficulty because he was alone. But he didn't make a bad impression. We must also support him. Rotation is also possible in the next game. Mahir tried to help as much as possible.
- Will this defeat affect the team's psychological state?
- It will be difficult physically, but our squad is wide. We have two days to recover. Other players are also ready to play. It is important to adapt to the game in a short time in the national team. We could have been more careful in the second goal in a standard situation. If we had been careful, the score would not have been so great. We will draw conclusions from these mistakes.
- How do you assess the goal conceded in the 45+1 minute?
- In my opinion, only Mbappe could have scored that goal. With his skill level and speed, he accurately shot into the far corner. My players tried their best to stop him, but it is difficult to play against such players. It could have been that if we went to the break 0:0, the second half would have been more difficult. The team believed that we could fight, and this was important for us.
- Was Mahir's presence on the field a necessity?
In my opinion, we could have made the first substitution a little late. Rustam Ahmadzadeh asked for a substitution, we did not consider it appropriate to make two player changes at the same time. Toral Bayramov is a versatile football player, but we could not keep the minute we wanted. I felt that we were having difficulty in standard situations and we conceded a goal in those minutes. We were preparing for the opponent's attacks. It is impossible to prevent an attack for 90 minutes.
- One of the best players of the game was Abdulah Khaybulayev.
- I think so too, he was one of the best. I am glad that he is slowly gaining his place in the main squad. He got tired. In the second goal, we had to play simpler and attack. He is determined.
- It was the same players before, and it is now. Is it obvious that the lack of system was the problem in our previous national teams?
- It would be difficult to talk about the past. It wouldn't be right. There were questions even when I wasn't in the national team. It is a topic that we will pay attention to. If we want our football to reach a certain level, our national teams must have a system and philosophy. We are talking to the management about this. Hopefully, it will work out. I'm being honest, I've had 3 training sessions and 1 game with the players. We have players with great potential. I believe that we are able to play head-to-head with opponents close to us.
