Interview of former Azerbaijan national team forward Samir Aliyev with Futbolinfo.az.
Our national team will play its first match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers away against Iceland on September 5. Can our team achieve a good result in this game?
I recently read an interview with our national team’s goalkeeper, Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev. I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but according to him, players used to come to the national team with more desire in the past. From this perspective, the level of motivation among the squad will be visible on the pitch. I hope that Fernando Santos can prepare the team well for this game and delight us with a good performance.
Four days after the clash with Iceland, we will host Ukraine in Baku. How do you assess our chances in this match?
Along with France, Ukraine is considered one of the favorites in the group and they have a strong squad. Let’s hope that, as in every qualifying campaign, we will be able to pull off a surprise this time as well.
In the matches against Iceland and Ukraine, from whom in our squad do you expect goals?
The reality is that today, among the players called up to the national team, some have regular playing time at their clubs while others don’t. There are several positions where we have serious problems. No one but Santos knows who will play and who won’t. From this point of view, it’s difficult to predict who might score. Goals can be expected both from the forwards in attack and from our defenders during set-pieces.
Overall, how many points do you think our national team will finish the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with?
As I mentioned, if we look back at history, we can see that in every qualifying campaign we have had victories. This has continued from 1996 up until now. During this time, we’ve beaten countries such as Switzerland, Serbia, Norway, Finland, and others. It’s possible for us to defeat some team in this qualifying round as well.
What are your thoughts on Qarabag’s Champions League opponents? Do you think our champion can qualify among the last 24 teams and make history again?
The Champions League is a completely different level, and there are no weak opponents there. It will be difficult for Qarabag in the league stage. Nevertheless, I’m confident that our champion will delight the fans with their play.
Idman.biz
