Azerbaijan mini football national team captain Elvin Alizade says he is confident his side can overcome Kazakhstan in the round of 16 at the European Championship in Bratislava, İdman.Biz reports.
Speaking ahead of the knockout match, Alizade praised Azerbaijan’s performances in the group stage, where the team finished top of the group after victories over Austria, Italy and France.
“France and Italy were teams we already knew well, while Austria were a different kind of opponent because we had never faced them before,” Alizade said. “Finishing first in the group was not accidental. We knew our rivals’ strengths and weaknesses and used that to our advantage.”
The captain admitted Azerbaijan expect a difficult match against Kazakhstan but believes the current squad is stronger than in previous years.
“Kazakhstan have many new players and their squad has changed a lot. They are still a good team and always fight hard, but I do not think they are as strong as before. At the same time, we believe our team is stronger this year,” he explained.
Alizade also spoke about possible quarter-final opponents Czech Republic and Montenegro, describing the Czech side as one of the leading nations in mini football, while noting Azerbaijan’s familiarity with Montenegro’s playing style.
The experienced player believes Azerbaijan are among the favourites to win the tournament, especially after arriving in Slovakia as reigning world champions.
“Everyone pays special attention to us because we are the current world champions. We can feel that both on and off the pitch,” he said. “There are very strong teams like Romania and Serbia, but if we avoid unexpected problems, we have a very good chance of becoming champions.”
Azerbaijan’s round-of-16 match against Kazakhstan will take place tonight at Tipos Arena in Bratislava and is scheduled to kick off at 23:59 Baku time.
