The Azerbaijan national team face Liechtenstein in Vaduz today. Led by head coach Aykhan Abbasov, the national side will be battling to get out of League D.
We contacted Aslan Karimov, the former Azerbaijan national team and Qarabag midfielder and well-known football expert, to ask for his thoughts on the match.
He told Fanat.az:
“My expectations for the match against Liechtenstein are actually positive. I believe we have everything it takes to beat Liechtenstein. All our players are in fairly good shape. Admittedly, some have not had enough game time. But I think Aykhan Abbasov has adequate cover in every position.
Whatever the circumstances, I think we should be beating Liechtenstein by now. Whether our players have had game time or not, we simply have to do it. I am absolutely certain we will take points against Liechtenstein. And by taking points, I mean winning.
It is just that, when you are playing away from home, the opposition will inevitably have at least a few counter-attacks. What we need to be careful about is dealing with those counter-attacks properly and in an organised manner. We may well press again early in the game and be the dominant side. But if the opposition sit deep, there may be spells when we cannot score and our passing combinations do not come off. That should not make us panic. In situations like these, as teams struggle to score and grow frustrated, they can leave gaps at the back.
We must guard against that. Those are the only situations in which we could drop points. I think Aykhan Abbasov has already addressed these issues, spoken to the lads about them and, so to speak, sorted them out. That is why I believe we will win.”
The match kicks off today at 23:45 Baku time.
Alisahib Ibrahimli
This article was translated from Azerbaijani with the help of AI. Original in Azerbaijani
