The Azerbaijani national team lost two friendly matches: 0-3 to Haiti and 0-2 to Belarus.
Idman.biz reports that the former player Adil Shukurov shared his thoughts with Futbolpress.az about the national team's recent results: "Watching the Haiti game, it felt like our national team was playing a friendly against one of Europe's top countries. The Haitian team outperformed us in almost every aspect. Ten minutes into the game, it was as if our team completely changed direction. In the first minutes, we were attacking, trying to put pressure on their goal, but after Haiti scored, our team descended into chaos. Throughout the game, we tried to launch chaotic attacks, but Haiti’s defense effectively neutralized them, forcing our players to run without the ball for up to two minutes several times. Watching that situation was very upsetting.
As for the Belarus game, the changes in the lineup both pleased and worried me. I was happy because young players were given a chance. However, the worrying part was that the experienced players weren’t setting a good example for the young ones. In the past, we used to see experienced players supporting the younger ones, correcting their mistakes, and being role models when needed. But some of the experienced players in the current team see the younger players as rivals, which hampers their development.
Shukurov also shared his thoughts on the national team’s 2026 World Cup opponents – Iceland, Ukraine, and France: "After our loss to Haiti, I found it interesting to watch the Nations League play-off games between France and Ukraine. I’ll tell you, France had lost 0-2 to Croatia in the first match, but in the second leg, they didn’t even let Croatia’s team leave their own penalty area. The speed of the game was such that after the 65th-70th minute, Croatia was only thinking about getting the game to penalties. The statistics showed France’s dominance in every aspect. As for our team, as I mentioned, we have some very tough games ahead."
Shukurov also mentioned the impact of the upcoming change in the legionnaire limit: "Removing the limit will give a strong push to club development, but it will be very difficult for the national team. The statistics will show how many local players teams will rely on in each round. Then we can compare and draw some conclusions about the results."
Idman.biz
