Sport24.az
Ayxan Abbasov, the head coach of the Azerbaijan U-21 national team, gave an interview after the 0:5 defeat against Portugal in the away match within the qualifying round of the European Championship. Sport24.az presents the interview.
- Did the game and the course of the match go as you expected?
- The opponent's strength was clear. I had stated before the game that these matches are important for us. We did not make any tactical mistakes in the first half. Perhaps, we should have been more confident during the goal-scoring opportunities. Because goal-scoring opportunities are rare against teams like Portugal. I regret that we conceded a cheap and early goal in the second half. In that episode, the opponent did nothing, the ball was at our player's feet. After the goal, our players had to recover. They really fought, there were episodes. I am not dissatisfied with the children's fight. It's true that the score was a big difference. Someone who didn't watch the game might think that they surrendered easily. But I don't think we surrendered easily. Agadadash Salyanski's two episodes, Edgar Adilkhanov's created episode, Rufat Abbasov's shot... These episodes must be used in the away match against Portugal. But overall, there are many good moments. Today, players born in 2006 and 2007 are on the field. They are our future. I am optimistic about the future, there is no need to be discouraged. Anyway, our wish in this cycle is to win points against opponents close to us. We will also win points. We continue our work. The main thing is that there is a game. It was our third gathering. We have played two friendly matches and one official match. But today Portugal did not easily beat us, they suffered. Stars play in this team. The difference is that they play in their Super League, play in "Porto", "Benfica", "Sporting", they also have legionnaires. They don't go to the A team, they want to grow in such games. A new head coach has arrived, they have goals. It was a bit difficult for us. But in any case, I believe in my team. We would like our squad to be wide, for our players to play. In the match against Portugal, Rufat Abbasov stood out from the others. Because we have one player who plays stably in the Premier League, and that is Rufat. But these should not be excuses. We must fight this and the players must understand that they should not lose their place in the main squad in their clubs. I also told my players that we need to recover quickly. We have a game against Bulgaria. We continue our work.
- Won't it be difficult?
- It will be difficult. But we need to look at rotations. We will be on the road all day. It is like this for all teams. Bulgaria also played and will come to Baku.
- Will it be possible to involve Shahin Shahniyarov and Khayal Aliyev in the U-21 national team?
- That is not my decision to make. I would love to. Let's talk realistically, these games are also necessary for them. It is more necessary for those children than for me. You saw the atmosphere, the fans, the enthusiasm in the game. It's a completely different level. It is really necessary for our players. Perhaps our well-known players could have been in the focus of interest in the match against Portugal.
- Don't you have the opportunity to knock on the door of the A national team in this regard?
- If they have been invited to the A national team... Let's see. It is also difficult there. The A national team also has a game in three days. We also have our players. Our players who appeared in the match against Portugal were eager, they immediately jumped into the game. There was an episode where they gave their lives in a one-on-one situation. We just conceded cheap goals. We shouldn't have made those mistakes. We had also prepared for that. The goal we conceded in the 47th minute broke us. Maybe if we could have endured for 10-15 minutes, we would have had fast attacks. Time is needed. If we suddenly want to get points from Portugal today, we need time for that (sportal.az).
