Ayxan Abbasov: "We will fight to win both games"

"I thank Fernando Santos, the head coach of the main national team, for holding the training match."

Idman.biz reports that this was said by Aykhan Abbasov, the head coach of the Azerbaijan national team consisting of football players under 21 years old.

He shared his thoughts with the AFFA press service about the training camp. The 43-year-old specialist first shared his impressions of the test match (0:3) held with the main national team: "Although we were in full squad, some members of the main national team were not in the camp because they participated in the final game of the Azerbaijan Cup. Two halves were played, each lasting 35 minutes, and both teams tested all the players. Being on the field with the players of the main team was an additional motivation for our players. Holding such test matches is beneficial for the players."

As part of the preparation, our U-21 team will hold a friendly match with the corresponding age group team of Belarus at the Baranovichy city stadium on June 4, and with the Montenegrin team at the Mehdi Huseynzade Sumgayit city stadium on June 8. The head coach said that the goal in those matches would be to win: "This is our second preparation in the U-21 national team. Our first training camp was organized in Antalya. There are some new players in the squad. We want to improve even more as a team at each training camp. It is good for us that the opponents we will face in friendly matches are ahead in the ranking. Playing against strong teams only has a positive effect. We will face Belarus away and Montenegro at home. Considering that there will be home-away games in the qualifying round, we must get used to it. We will fight to win both matches. Football players must focus on the maximum result on the field. These matches will also help players gain international experience."

Aykhan Abbasov emphasized that they analyzed the Belarus and Montenegro national teams: "I can only say good things about the opponents. I watched the last two friendly matches of Belarus. They defeated North Macedonia in Antalya and Turkey in Istanbul. Their U-21 team, in particular, has developed a lot in recent years. Montenegrin football players mainly live as legionnaires in other countries. In short, they are interesting opponents. Facing such teams will help our development."

Idman.biz