Eldar Guliyev: Change of head coach will not seriously affect Azerbaijan's game against Ukraine

Zira FC midfielder Eldar Guliyev spoke about the national team's match against Ukraine in the qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

According to Idman.biz, the football player noted that the change of head coach is unlikely to radically change the situation.

"It's unlikely. It is possible that the team can get some emotional charge, nothing else. The new coach cannot radically change anything in such a short time," dynamo.kiev quotes the football player.

Guliyev also shared his impressions of Azerbaijani football:

"When I moved here, I thought that the championship would be weak. But this is a wrong idea. Zira is a team with goals. When I played here, I realized that the level of competitions in Ukraine is not much higher than here now. Azerbaijan has a beautiful, good championship, its locomotive Qarabag has reached the group stage of the Champions League. But I am sure that in a few years other clubs will also be able to reach the group stage of European cups."

Answering a question about the leaders of the national team, the midfielder noted:

"I like the left-back Elvin Jafarguliyev. Mahir Emreli is also performing well in Kaiserslautern. However, he does not look as good in the national team as he does in the club."

Commenting on Azerbaijan's defeat to Iceland (0:5) and Fernando Santos' departure, Guliyev added:

"I think everyone will agree that this is a disgrace in terms of score. The national team is currently going through an unsuccessful period. You see, things did not work out for him in Azerbaijan either. There is nothing surprising about this, everything was leading to this."

Regarding the upcoming meeting with Ukraine, the football player said the following:

"In home matches, even if they play defensively, Azerbaijan always has opportunities, regardless of who the opponent is. But if the players of the Ukrainian national team do everything right, the guests should not have any special problems. If the home team gets a positive result for themselves, it will look like a big sensation."

The Azerbaijan-Ukraine match will be held on September 9 in Baku.

Idman.biz