Sport24.az
"We started the match well. We defended well against the opponent's counter-attacks. We also opened the scoring." Sport24.az reports that these words were said by the captain of the Azerbaijani national team, Emin Mahmudov.
The experienced midfielder shared his thoughts on the 1:3 defeat to France in the qualifying round of WC-2026:
"After opening the scoring, we tried to score the second goal as well. But it didn't work out. The opponent showed their level and quality. They did not allow us to counter-attack constantly. After increasing the pressure, they scored goals. We started conceding goals in the first half. I can't say that we didn't have enough strength because of this. The opponent's quality is very high. They are also a good team physically. That's why it was a bit difficult for us."
According to Mahmudov, the players in the team play believing in each other.
"We all try to help each other. Sometimes it doesn't work out. But progress is felt. We defend better. It's true, we lose. That's the only problem."
The player also touched upon the fact that some of his teammates have little chance to play in their clubs:
"In fact, this is a big problem. We don't have many players either. We want the players to play more in their clubs. Because they don't play much in clubs, there is a little fatigue in the second half. We also have young players in the team. If they play constantly, they will help us a lot in the future."
Emin Mahmudov emphasized that his substitution in the last matches was due to an injury: "I didn't risk playing 90 minutes. I could have been injured again. I haven't trained much lately. If I wait a little longer, my injury will go away. I have to take better care of myself so that I don't get injured."
