“Matches against Portugal and Bulgaria will provide valuable experience for Azerbaijan’s young footballers.”
Idman.biz reports that this was stated by Aykhan Abbasov, head coach of Azerbaijan’s U-21 national team, in an interview with Report news agency.
He spoke about the team’s upcoming games in the European Championship qualifying stage: “We face tough matches away against Portugal and at home against Bulgaria. Both opponents need no introduction. Portugal participated in the last European Championship at the U-21 level. Bulgaria’s squad includes a player from Levski, who faced Sabah in the UEFA Conference League, and he could play against us. In short, both teams have strong lineups. Playing against such teams will be a valuable experience for our young footballers. As you know, our youngsters have limited international experience. But we want to achieve something, and we have to start somewhere.”
Abbasov also mentioned that younger players have been called up to the squad: “Looking at today’s roster, there are players born in 2007. Unfortunately, we don’t have many options to choose from. Nevertheless, I trust every player called up. I believe that this season we will see young players performing well in the Premier League or First League, and they will be useful for the national team.”
The U-21 team will gather for training on September 1. They will play against Portugal in Barcelona on September 5 at 22:30 (Baku time), and against Bulgaria in Baku on September 9 at 18:00.
The national team, placed in Group B, will depart for Portugal on the night of September 2–3.
Idman.biz
