Sport24.az
"It took a long time for me to score a goal. I couldn't update that record for a year. But thank God, I managed to do it today."
Sport24.az reports that these words were said by the captain of the Azerbaijani national team, Emin Mahmudov, while talking about the historic goal he scored in the D-2026 qualifying match against the Ukrainian national team.
The 33-year-old midfielder said that he felt great pride in being the top scorer by bringing the number of his goals in the national team to 15: "First of all, I thank the fans. Despite losing 0:5 to Iceland, they motivated us today. Being the top scorer of the national team is a very magnificent feeling. I was working on myself. I thank my teammates, I could not have achieved this without them. I also thank head coach Aykhan Abbasov, he supported us a lot. Despite working with us for only one day, he was able to encourage us. You can't change much in one day. There were some tactical adjustments, but mainly he restored our self-confidence psychologically."
Mahmudov said that it is more comfortable to work with local specialists in the national team: "The management decides this. It is more comfortable with local coaches. Aykhan muellim knew us, so it was good. It is more comfortable to work with local specialists."
It should be noted that the game held at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw. Emin Mahmudov broke the 21-year-old record of former football player Gurban Gurbanov. The head coach of "Qarabag" scored 14 times in 68 games he played for the national team from 1992-2005. Emin Mahmudov reached 15 goals in his 56th match in the Azerbaijani national team, which he has been defending since 2016.
