"I congratulate our national team on the success achieved. There is no need to downplay the result, at least they became champions. The "FIFA Series" tournament is beneficial for head coach Aykhan Abbasov." These words were said by Elvin Mammadov, the former football player of the Azerbaijan national team, in his statement to Sport24.az.
He shared his views on the victory of the Azerbaijani national team in the "FIFA Series 2026" international tournament:
"Such matches are important to determine the optimal squad. The self-confidence and belief of the players increases. The fans are right not to take this success seriously. We have brought the team to this situation anyway. Every player playing in the national team has contributed. Now, the most important thing is the matches in the League of Nations. Getting a positive result from the matches with Lithuania and Liechtenstein seems realistic. Aykhan Abbasov's goal in coming to the national team is to promote it from League D to League C. Although it is difficult, I believe that the players will cope with this. Lithuania and Liechtenstein are not weak opponents. Anyway, there is no concept of an easy opponent in Europe for our team right now."
It should be noted that the Azerbaijani national team defeated the Saint Lucia team 6:1 in the first match of the tournament. The main time of the match with Sierra Leone ended in a draw (1:1). The Azerbaijan team, which was more accurate in the penalty shootout (9:8), became the winner of the tournament.