"Neftchi" coordinator: "The opponents were at a high level in the II "Ulduz Cup" tournament, and "Neftchi" won"

The level of the teams that came from other countries was high at the II "Ulduz Cup" international tournament held in Guba.

Islam Karimov, coordinator of "Neftchi" in lower age groups, said this in his statement to "Report".

The expert shared his impressions about winning the tournament:

"12 teams participated in the II "Ulduz Cup" tournament. 8 of them represented other countries. Azerbaijan was represented by 4 teams. The teams were divided into 3 groups. "Neftchi" was in the same group C with "Shakhtyor" (Kazakhstan), "Pakhtakor" (Uzbekistan) and "Sabah" (Azerbaijan). Our team drew with "Shakhtyor" (1:1) and "Sabah" (0:0) in the first match, and defeated "Pakhtakor" with a score of 1:0. In the semi-final, "Neftchi" faced "Dinamo" (Tbilisi, Georgia). After the 11-meter penalty kicks, the team reached the final and faced "Pakhtakor". Our team won the gold medals by winning 5:4 in the final. Elmar Abbasli, who was selected as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, saved a record number of 7 penalty kicks in total".

He emphasized the level of the opponents:

"The level of the teams from other countries was very high. I would especially like to mention the representatives of Georgia and Uzbekistan. I would even say that "Pakhtakor" was at a higher level than "Dinamo". Football is developing in Uzbekistan. The country's main team qualified for the final stage of the World Championship. Children's football is also developing rapidly in Uzbekistan".

It should be noted that "Neftchi" defeated "Pakhtakor" 5:4 in the penalty shootout in the final of the II "Ulduz Cup" international tournament.