"I am very disappointed for the defeat. Today we played against a competitive opponent."
Idman.biz reports that the head coach of the Mongolian national team, Ichiro Otsuka, said this for the first time at the press conference held after the Azerbaijan-Mongolia (1:0) match within the framework of the "FIFA series – Edition 2024" project organized in Baku.
He said that his team performed well: "I thank my players. I hope we can get a good result in the next game."
- What is the difference between Japanese and Azerbaijani football?
- The Azerbaijani national team is of a high level for us. The difference compared to Japan is that all the players in their squad play in Europe and top leagues. They have good experiences. For a team like ours, playing on the same field as Azerbaijan is a great experience. They have good quality. Last year we played against Georgia. Although we made the score 1:1 in the match, it did not work in the end. Today, Azerbaijan organized a good attack.
- If today's match ended in a draw, would it be a sensation for you? But what was not enough to formalize this account?
- This was our second game against the European team. If it ended in a draw, yes, it would be a sensation. If you are defending all match, you lose energy. I always tell the football players that there are always last-minute goals, fight carefully. If we thought of attack, there would be no fear. We have to change our mindset and play offensively.
- In the last minutes, your team played offensively, creating scoring opportunities. Why didn't it happen in the first minutes?
- I just came to the team. Basically, I started to instill defense in the players. Our future task will be to play in attack.
Banuchichek Huseynli
Idman.biz
