“We have the potential to make us stronger”

Head coach told the AFFA press service that they were unable to travel with a full squad and played three consecutive games in a short period of time: “The current age group team last met during the CIS Games in Gabala in October last year. It is true that if the training sessions were more frequent, we could eliminate the shortcomings earlier. We started the current training camp on April 20 and played three consecutive games in a short period of time. Several of our key players were not in the squad. There were those who participated in the U-20 national team training camp and those who were injured. I can mention Ali Bashirov, Bilal Hajiyev, Ugur Gurbanli and Mehdi Mutallimli. Of course, their absence created certain difficulties for us. Despite this, we won two of the three games we played.” 

 

A. Nabiyev evaluated the matches against the Youth teams from Russia, Kazakhstan and Pakistan: “The first half of our first match against Russia ended in a draw 0-0. After the break, we made successive substitutions in the squad. After the substitutes, there was a decline in our game and the physical condition of the players. However, the team still recovered and won two consecutive wins. It was difficult for both us and the players to gather and prepare for the tournament after a 6-month break. We participated in the first international tournament away with this age group team. Therefore, the players were excited and stressed. We informed them about their technical and physical shortcomings, and we will also meet with their clubs.”

 

The head coach stressed that he believes that the team will be ready for the European Championship qualifying matches against Germany, Northern Ireland and Lithuania in November: “We will play in the European Championship qualifying round at the end of the year. We have been seeded in a difficult group. We will try to overcome the problems during the training camps that will take place before the official games. We have a promising team; we have the potential to make us stronger.”

 

Note that Azerbaijan Under-17 Youth team lost to Russia (0-5) but won the matches against Kazakhstan (1-1, 4-2 after the penalties) and Pakistan (1-0) in the U-17 UEFA Development Tournament.