"The Swedish national team has very high-quality players in every position."
This was stated by former Azerbaijan national football player Richard Almeida in an interview with Idman.biz.
The Qarabag midfielder assessed the chances of the Azerbaijan national team ahead of their away match against Sweden in the UEFA Nations League.
He expressed confidence in a positive result: "It's possible to return with a good result from this trip. The recent performances of the national team support this belief. Even if there are no results, progress can be seen in team play. The team showed good performance in the last match. I would specifically highlight Ozan Can Kökçü. I have never seen him play like that in the national team. At the same time, players from Qarabag also performed well. It’s unfortunate that we lost Elvin Jafarguliyev. He is having the best period of his career. Regardless, I hope the national team will return from Sweden with a successful result."
Almeida also reflected on the team’s previous 0-5 loss to Sweden in the EURO 2023 qualifiers, providing insight into how Azerbaijan might overcome them: "Looking at the score, other things come to mind. But we played well in that match as well. In the beginning, we had possession of the ball. We had goal-scoring chances. But they finished their attacks with goals. The first goal determined the outcome of the match. Sweden is a well-assembled team. I must mention Viktor Gyökeres, who has been playing well for Sporting recently, and Alexander Isak, the forward from Newcastle. I believe the national team could surprise them by playing counter-attacks. We have players like Musa Gurbanli, Toral Bayramov, and Ramil Sheydayev. They can do it."
The 35-year-old footballer also expressed his belief that the national team will become stronger in the future: "Head coach Fernando Santos is new, and he is trying to get to know the players. He’s testing them one by one. No company or organization strengthens in just one day. A clear example of this is Qarabag football club. The head coach has been there for 14 years. The team didn’t win the championship at first, but over time everything fell into place. The national team also has a new head coach with new philosophy, new ideas, and playing style. It takes time to adjust to that. Over time, everything will fall into place. I believe the new coach will build a good team for the future."
The Sweden vs. Azerbaijan match will start at 23:45 Baku time.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz
