“The strongest team in the tournament was Poland. You cannot compare them with our national team. The difference is like night and day.”
U-19 head coach Elkhan Abdullayev said this to Football-plus.az while speaking about their 0-6 loss to Poland at the Slovenia Nations Cup, Idman.biz reports.
The coach explained the reasons behind the heavy defeat: “The Polish national team surpasses us in every aspect, they are made up of very good players. Facing such an opponent in the third match is very difficult because we had spent a lot of energy in the first two games. There wasn’t enough strength left for the final one. Our national team doesn’t have the experience to play three matches in a week. In the domestic league, there’s one match per week, and there’s plenty of time to prepare for the next one. Of course, we’re upset about losing by a big margin. It’s not a pleasing result. But the reality is we are weaker than the opponent. We had no strength. We managed to fight until the 60th minute, but later we made mistakes, and the players’ legs wouldn’t listen anymore. Honestly, it’s not a disaster. It’s difficult to punch above our weight.”
Abdullayev also emphasized that not only they, but also the clubs, must focus on improving the players’ physical preparation: “Maybe then, in games against such teams, we would concede fewer goals or even get a draw. Today it’s impossible to beat Poland. The important thing is that the team fought and showed character. Also, we didn’t come here with a full squad, as some players were called up to the U-21 national team. Overall, I was satisfied with my team. In all matches they showed determination.”
Our national team won its first two Slovenia Nations Cup games against Iceland and the Faroe Islands by 2-1.
Idman.biz
