Azerbaijan women’s U19 national team head coach, Habib Aghayev, has acknowledged the team's difficulties in competing against strong opponents such as Switzerland.
Speaking to Report, Aghayev shared his thoughts on the team's performance in the European Championship qualifiers, highlighting the tough challenge of facing a team like Switzerland, whom they lost to 0-8, Idman.biz reports.
“The opponent was very strong in the first match. We knew Switzerland was playing for first place. We struggle against such teams. We did what we could. In the first half, we were 0-2 down, and in the second half, we simply couldn’t keep up. In the second match, we faced Estonia. Compared to Switzerland, they were weaker, but still stronger than us. They had beaten Cyprus 3-0 in the first match. By the third match, we had nothing to lose. I told the girls to go out and play. Despite trying to play an open game, we still lost,” Aghayev explained.
He also linked the team's shortcomings to difficulties with player selection and the delayed start of the national league.
“Our current level is limited. The main issue is that I face challenges during the selection process. Another reason is that the league hasn’t started yet. In other countries, the first round has already concluded, but our league hasn’t even begun. The girls were very unprepared, and it’s extremely difficult to compete in such high-level tournaments under these conditions,” he added.
In the U19 European Championship qualifiers, Azerbaijan’s team suffered losses to Switzerland (0-8), Estonia (0-3), and Cyprus (0-3) in their group.
Idman.biz
