Sport24.az
Latvian national team coach Paolo Nicolato participated in a press conference before the test match against Azerbaijan tomorrow. Sport24.az reports that the Italian specialist said the following about the match with our national team:
"We have been preparing for the match against Azerbaijan for 5 days. Although we have some difficulties, we want to solve the problems and achieve success. I am optimistic on the eve of tomorrow's match. We take every meeting seriously. Our opponent is ranked 119th in the FIFA rankings. We want to improve by playing with teams above us. We have new players in our squad. We give them the opportunity to show themselves. Such games are also a chance to show their skills. The important thing for us is that every football player feels like an important figure here. It is also important for new players not to have a sense of fear in matches against strong teams. The strength of the national team is measured by the level of the domestic league. The more of our football players play in a strong club, the better it will be for our national team.
We are not looking at the games we played against the Azerbaijani national team in the past. Latvia's defeat to Azerbaijan in the last game 5 years ago is not important to me. We always act according to the requirements of today. Because a lot changes in a minute in football. Azerbaijani national team coach Fernando Santos is a world-renowned specialist. I have great respect for his work and success. Of course, we take this into account.
After the match with Azerbaijan, we will play an official match with Albania. Of course, there have been 50 percent changes in the squad. After the meeting with Azerbaijan, we will focus all our attention on the match with the Albanians.".
